Small towns - It was rural Arkansans' year, finally
Census figures show that rural Arkansas has been dying for more than half a century. Urbanization prevails in this state as in the rest of America. But the little band of rural Arkansans left is a hardy lot. To save their tiny local schools, these men and women out-organized and outfought the governor, big corporations, the press, and what should have been a majority of the state legislature. For beating the odds and imposing their will on the state, Mr. and Mrs. Rural Arkansas are the Arkansas Times' Arkansans of the Year.