Minetown, Milltown, Railtown
explores deeply and broadly the links between economic resources, industrial structure, and social patterns in Canada. It is a study of the six hundred or so communities from coast to coast, each of which was created and is dominated by a single Industrial firm. Almost a million people live in these towns. In many respects their lives are different from those of people who live in communities where there are competing enterprises, but they share, with almost half of Canada's population, the restricted health, recreational, educational, and consumer services which characterize small communities.
The author, in the course of two decades of research, has gathered personal accounts from hundreds of citizens in communities from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island. In this study he discusses patters of behaviour intrinsic to communities of single industry.
Many, if not most, of us grew up in small towns; the style of life Professor Lucas explores thus has significance far beyond the confines of the specific communities described. The patterns developed there are an important part of the fabric of Canadian society.
Canadian communities of single industry are fundamentally different from the long list of famous communities that have been studied by sociologists. These Canadian towns have a short past and few memories; they are products of twentieth-century technology, and are formed — and die — as new resources are exploited. Sociologists interested in community life will find this an original and valuable work. Written in a straightforward style, free of jargon, it will interest the layman and specialist alike, for it leads to an understanding of community relationships distinctive to Canadian life.