| San Antonio Bay of Texas is a complex physical system that integrates terrestrial and oceanic environments. Residents of the area are mostly gathered in four towns, each with a distinct location relative to the bay. This study shows how local storytelling is used to create and maintain the "local" character of each town. Interviews were conducted with residents from Austwell, Tivoli, Long Mott and Seadrift, Texas, and a qualitative analysis of those interviews offered clear results regarding the importance of story telling as a place-making practice. The results show that stories link residents to local histories and ideologies. Also, it is through stories that residents come to understand the physical environment and their relationship to it. The research shows that even when local residents have fairly uniform understandings of the local physical environments, local storytelling is used to assert place definitions, to manage conflicting local definitions, to mediate differences in scientific theories and personal experiences, and to explain extreme physical events. Local storytelling creates and maintains the necessary definitions for determining who is "local" and who is not. These findings add detail to geographical interests in local senses of place as fundamental human experiences. The findings help explain the attachments that people feel towards places they call home. |
