A great story, and one that resonates deeply with me. I grew up in a relatively large town compared to Napoleon--3000 and a county seat.  My first school was a two-room schoolhouse six miles from town with about 20 students. The surrounding area was quite a bit more unpopulated than the area around Napoleon, with much less water closer to the Canadian border. High school was bigger--there were 85 in my graduating class.<p>After moving to town in the sixth grade, I discovered Ham Radio. This turned out to be the precursor to what became the internet. Folks met lifelong friends, talked to people around the world, helped with public safety. I know a couple who met on Ham Radio and eventually got married. This all happened on Morse Code.<p>There are a few classmates that I have stayed in touch with over the years, largely thanks to the internet. Class reunions were a bit enlightening, as after I left for University in Chicago, my life seriously diverged. Some of my classmates are still there--one now lives with next door to the house she grew up in. I felt like I had been shot out of a cannon to a different time and place. I was eager to see other parts of the world, and didn&#x27;t feel the same sense of local community that the author of the article did.<p>For further evidence of life in rural areas and small towns, see <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;books.google.com&#x2F;books?id=7Nv6BQ74lsIC&amp;pg=PA25&amp;lpg=PA25&amp;dq=miles+from+nowhere+jordan+montana&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=-y8Drr-pQq&amp;sig=28HPDdJ1JPYoJHcPnE-Cz_vZnMw&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjjnu_B4KfMAhXCQiYKHZKLDHgQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&amp;q=miles%20from%20nowhere%20jordan%20montana&amp;f=false" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;books.google.com&#x2F;books?id=7Nv6BQ74lsIC&amp;pg=PA25&amp;lpg=P...</a>, wherein Margaret Stafford lives 21 miles from the nearest pavement, 84 miles from Miles City, population 8461. From amazon, <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Miles-Nowhere-Americas-Contemporary-Frontier&#x2F;dp&#x2F;0803266278&#x2F;ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1461517521&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=9780803266278" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Miles-Nowhere-Americas-Contemporary-Fr...</a>. He tells of the social shock of a student who first goes to a small rural school (check) then to high school (check). I experienced a third social shock going to the University near Chicago.<p>Another tale of rural life is told in Breaking Clean by  Judy Blunt: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Breaking-Clean-Judy-Blunt&#x2F;dp&#x2F;0375701303" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.com&#x2F;Breaking-Clean-Judy-Blunt&#x2F;dp&#x2F;037570130...</a>. (Off topic is the description of the bad winter she describes against which all other winters are measured.)