Some of us groove out on life in the country. The city has its congestion and myriad problems: crime, high rent, noise. There are so many things one has to think about in the city—for example, a parking space and, oh yeah, clean air. Gone are the myriad stars at night.

But country life has its challenges. In Sinclair Lewis’ 1920 novel on this topic, Main Street, a girl from St. Paul, Minnesota marries a boy from the country who is now a doctor. He wants to settle in his hometown. When she first walks down its Main Street after unpacking in her new house, a certain Stephen King-like horror envelops her. But it will only get worse at the first dinner party she throws. Yes, she sees a life of boredom ahead. She also feels suddenly dulled by the local prejudices.

Main Street is one of the great American novels. We have all felt what it is to be Carol Milford—a strong young personality who comes into conflict with the small town mentality of Gopher Prairie. Still, if we live long enough, we might come around to the importance of towns like Gopher Prairie—having a small house with your own tomato patch out in the backyard of our broad expanse— in defining what it is to be a happy American.

So what is to be done about that small town mentality and those prejudices which lend themselves so well to satire? They are very real and must constantly be questioned and expanded. Rural towns ultimately benefit from characters like Carol Milford. Which brings me to today’s podcast.

Courtney Tanner is a journalist in Salt Lake City who has covered the polygamous towns of Colorado City and Hildale on the Utah/Arizona border for The Salt Lake Tribune. Last month she attended the first drag queen show to take place in the town, staged at the town’s first bar. She wrote up a marvelous article weaving the history of the town—my hometown—with one of the performers at the drag show, Violet Vox.

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