The landless became lords

Social changes have occurred since the homesteading of North Dakota's West River country in 1906. This was an ethnography of farmers. The author attended all group functions which took place during the research, including town meetings, political party meetings, weddings, family events, high school graduations, and 4-H outings. The county newspaper, land records, diaries and journals were used to corroborate what people said about their community and to provide a historical background for the present. The younger generation were found trying to find a balance between the need to accept sweeping social and agricultural changes and the desire to retain what they value most from their past: families, work, community and church.