Rural places, defined as places outside of urban centers with greater than 50,000 inhabitants, make up large areas of the United States. Rural places often have limited resources, but feature a strong sense of place and identity grounded in years of generational legacies. In my research, I explore connections between rural places and the arts, using qualitative methods to uncover perspectives on creativity, quality of life, and sense of place and identity in a rural sense. Newspapers have long been a connection between people and the places in which they live. Letterpress printing was widely used in the newspaper industry before the rise of offset printing. Letterpress printing uses hand-set blocks, which are locked into place, carefully inked, and printed page by page. Letterpress printing requires patience, attention to detail, and due to its connections with the news industry, features a connection to cultural trends and economics. This print was created using traditional letterpress techniques, featuring blocks that show decades of Illinois history and sentiment. This history shows political content, friendly conversation, and a midwest cultural identity that exists in both urban and rural communities, as well as in the natures of the people who call these communities home.
