They depend upon each other for the upkeep of city parks, the swimming pool, the storm sewers, and the cemetery. They save and borrow at the same bank. They all benefit when a repairman knows his business. They belong to the same service clubs and fraternal organizations. They are friends and neighbors.
Small towns fold layers and layers of relationships back upon each other.
Newcomers remain outsiders until they understand the local nuances in the story about the boys who chained the police car to the popcorn stand or whether it was good offense or good defense that put the 1956 girls' basketball team into the finals of the state tournament. Each town has its own mythology, and those who know it carry their citizenship with them wherever they go. A second factor that strengthens the local ties of small-town residents is the realization, at some level of consciousness, that their own welfare is ultimately tied up with everyone else's. The town represents a miniature cosmos. No matter how much an individual prospers, he or she has no better fire protection than can be provided by the local force, a fire department that in most cases depends upon volunteers.