Overview

Chippewa Lake is an idyllic waterfront community in north-central Michigan, popular with retirees and weekenders. The lake is surrounded by a rural farming community, but the area is facing a difficult transition as local demographics shift, and as it transforms from an agriculture-based economy to one that relies on wage labor. As farms have disappeared, local residents have employed a variety of strategies to adapt to a new economic structure. The community, meanwhile, has been indelibly affected by the advent of newcomers and retirees challenging the rural cultural values. An anthropologist with a background in sociology, Cindy L. Hull deftly weaves together oral accounts, historic documents, and participant surveys compiled from her nearly thirty years of living in the area to create a textured portrait of a community in flux.

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9781611860481

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Reviews

<p>[This] insightful research brings a valuable comprehensive understanding to Social Science scholars and local citizens of the complex tension-filled challenges faced in the on-going transitions from an old rural farm/lake area to a struggling modern-day isolated commuter/retirement community.--Richard A. Santer, Professor Emeritus of Geography, Ferris State University

[This] insightful research brings a valuable comprehensive understanding to Social Science scholars and local citizens of the complex tension-filled challenges faced in the on-going transitions from an old rural farm/lake area to a struggling modern-day isolated commuter/retirement community.--Richard A. Santer, Professor Emeritus of Geography, Ferris State University

Author Information

Cindy L. Hull is Professor in the Anthropology Department at Grand Valley State University.

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