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The purpose of this study was to discover the various meanings that the Pulaski Theatre held for the residents of Pulaski and the theatre's social importance to the town. The following research objectives directed this study: 1) to document the theatre's history from the time it was built in 1911 until the present day, 2) to uncover memories or feelings associated with the theatre, and 3) to determine if design features of the theatre building influenced those feelings/memories. In documenting the history of the theatre, design features of the original 1911 building were examined as well as changes over time. To determine if design features of the building influenced the feelings/memories that were associated with the structure it was important first to discover which architectural and design features people remembered, if any, and then to determine if these design features reflected a meaningful association, i.e. sense of place to participants. Also of interest was whether this association or sense of place would be similar or different for all. Participants were fifteen males and females aged 43 to 82 who had attended the theatre over time. All participants grew up in Pulaski and six had lived there their entire lives. Both African Americans and Caucasians participated. Subjects were asked to draw a picture of the theatre that expressed their experience of the space. After the drawing, they were asked to discuss the picture and its meaning to them. Clare Cooper Marcus and others used this environmental autobiography technique as a method to bring a person's experiences of a place to a conscious level. Tape-recorded interviews were conducted and transcribed by the researcher to discover memories of the theatre and the meaning of the theatre to the participants. Data were analyzed by coding to look for emerging themes or categories that relate to the research question. Of interest was whether or not the Pulaski Theatre represented a sense of place to residents and if that sense of place varied for different participants. Document research was conducted through old newspapers and artifacts in the Raymond Ratcliffe Museum (the historic museum in Pulaski), documents from scrapbooks, architectural plans, and the files of the Town of Pulaski. Themes that were identified from the research were (1) the structure was an integral part of the community, (2) the theatre was a reflection of the community's social norms and roles, such as segregation, and (3) the theatre interior contributed to the social atmosphere of the space. The theatre building, while transformed over time, retained a presence in the town and memories associated with it across time were significant in creating a sense of place in the community. The theatre was remembered as a setting that brought excitement and stimulation to children and adults for many years. Participants felt "at home" in the theatre, having favored sections of the theatre where they routinely sat. School children attending the weekly matinees in the summer and African Americans sitting in their special section of the balcony developed a special identity with that particular space within the theatre. Even after segregation, many African Americans continued to sit in the balcony where they had sat for many years and felt at home. The unique characteristics of these spaces were dependent on the people that frequented them rather than the architecture of the building. The sense of place was one of personal relationships and emotional attachments rather than of bricks and mortar. Memories of the theatre were stories of groups or individuals and their interactions in the space. The building represented these individuals and what they brought to this place and time. The Pulaski Theatre played a great role in interactions with friends and neighbors and was significant in reflecting a sense of place in this community. / Ph. D.

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In recent years, small towns have experienced declining levels of retail activity attributable to a variety of factors. Previously conducted research identifies a number of these factors such as changing population dynamics, continuously evolving retail practices, locational factors, and an assortment of other macroeconomic factors. Although retail decline is common for many small towns, there are some small towns that have been able to maintain their viability in an ever-changing economic climate. The primary purpose of this research is to better understand what spatial and socio-economic characteristics contribute to retail growth and decline in a series of small towns. This research highlights a selection of small towns across a 14 county area within east Texas. The selection of small towns includes a number of towns with an increasing number of retail establishments as well as a number of towns with decreasing retail establishments over the 14 year study timeframe. Contained within this research is a discussion of small town economic and retail development, as well as findings regarding spatial and socio-economic characteristics as they relate to retail growth and decline in small towns. This research finds that locational characteristics do have an effect on retail growth and decline. The research also supports the literature, which states retail growth and decline is more pronounced within certain retail categories.

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Explore through nonfiction essays the question of who will record my grandmother’s generation’s stories especially the oral stories she always tells. Topics discussed will include but are not limited to: Memaw’s oral stories, familial relationships, small town life, rural-living, hard-work, hardships, upbringings, food, family gatherings, moonshine, life, death, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. In addition to the aforementioned characteristics and specific topics, my relationship as daughter to Mom and granddaughter to Memaw will be examined in comparison with and contrasted to other matriarchal powers in my family.

Mineola is a poetic, observational, immersive documentary centered in the town of Mineola, Texas. The film provides an intimate, first person perspective of different locations in the town as well as underlying subversive beliefs and traditions. The film’s authoritative perspective guides the viewer not only in a direction of observation but personal connection to nostalgia of small communities.

"Little Town Blues" is a novel about a woman burdened by a childhood accident and surviver's guilt. She sneaks into a vacation house on Friday nights to read a novel. Bored with her marriage and her work as a hairdresser, her behavior becomes increasingly riskier.

Le but premier de ce travail est de préciser l’importance des productions végétales au sein des agglomérations secondaires gallo-romaines du centre bassin parisien. Le corpus est motivé par des choix chronologiques et géographiques : l’ensemble des sites est localisé au sein du bassin parisien et occupé entre le Ier et le Ve siècle ap. J.-C. Qu’entendons-nous par productions végétales ? Nous percevons trois cas différents : les productions végétales agricoles et donc alimentaires, que nous retrouvons par exemple dans les contextes urbains sous la forme des céréales produites, en l’état actuel de nos connaissances, dans les exploitations agricoles ; les productions vivrières, toujours alimentaires, produites directement dans les agglomérations (comme les potagers et les vergers) ; les productions végétales qui servent non pas à l’alimentation mais à l’artisanat. C'est le cas du bois du noisetier en vannerie. Le raisonnement autour des productions vivrières est une question centrale : que produisaient les urbains ? Où ? Quelle pouvait être l’importance de ces productions végétales alimentaires ? Afin d'y répondre, notre réflexion se porte sur les espaces non couverts des agglomérations secondaires. Il est certain en effet que la mise en culture des espèces végétales potagères et fruitières nécessite une source de lumière : elle n’est donc praticable que dans des espaces non couverts ou « non bâtis ». / The original intention of this work is to specify the importance of the vegetable productions within the Gallo-Roman small town of the center Paris region. The corpus is justified by chronological and geographical choices: the whole of the sites is localised within the Paris region and occupied between 1th and 5 th century. What we hear by vegetable productions ? We perceive three different cases : vegetable productions agricultural and thus food; productions food, directly produced in the small town (like the kitchen gardens and the orchards); the vegetable productions which are used not for the food but for the craft industry. The reasoning around the food productions is a key question : what produced the urban? Where? Which could be the importance of these vegetable food productions ? In order to answer it, our reflexion goes on not covers spaces of the small towns.