Small town life

A combine harvests wheat shortly after sunset just west of Red Cloud, Neb., on an early summer evening. Agriculture is still a mainstay of life in Red Cloud, though the size of the farms and cost of production have grown drastically, making small family farms a thing of the past. Red Cloud, a town with a population of 935, down 17% in the 2009 census, has all the charm and challenges that face small towns in rural America. Famed turn-of-the-century author Willa Cather grew up in Red Cloud.