[This is the point in the story that, as a researcher, I honestly cannot claim to have remained an objective observer, and will have to break the narrative to describe the following events first person. The problems with continuing with a claim of objectivity here is two fold: 1) that, as previously stated, Coggon is my hometown. For the purposes of this research I chose it as a case study due to the limited amount of time I could dedicate myself to this research as a graduate project. This meant that in choosing Coggon I had quick and easy access to the archives of City Hall, the Coggon Historical Society, and The North Linn Community School District as I am a native there and have proven myself trustworthy. 2) I share the same sentiments that Phyllis Ameter has stated above. In conducting this research, I sought not only how to help small towns endure throughout the United States, but also how I could help save my own community.] Robert (Bob) Henderson is a member of the Coggon Historical Society, and has lived in Coggon for 90 years. His home is one block from Main Street and he walks to the main intersection of Coggon where the Historical Society Building is located for events and meetings. The building, known as The Clemon’s House, used to be an inn run by the Clemon’s family when the railroad carried passengers
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to and from the many pioneer settlements that dotted the Iowa countryside. Today, the rail line is solely dedicated to freight. Through out the month of July, 2011, Bob and I undertook a project together, along with The Coggon Historical Society, and the North Linn School District to see how much interest we could generate in the community to organize, take action, and utilize some of the resources learned about as part of this research. At the time I did not discuss those resources with Bob or advertise them to the community. We just wanted to see if we could simply generate enough interest to get some bodies in some seats just to start brainstorming and making plans for the future. The historical society dug up some historic pictures of Coggon’s Main Street and the 1909 school in the town square. The photos were scanned, organized in a slideshow of images, and displayed with a borrowed projector from the North Linn School. The concept was to simply project historical images of Coggon’s Main Street and the school out of the second story window of the Clemon’s House and across the street onto the blank broad side of the adjacent vacant building next door. Every evening of that July, Bob would walk the one block from his home and meet me at the Clemon’s house around 8:30 -9 P.M. Bob unlocked the doors and followed me up to the sec-