The Company Town & Corporate Paternalism

Some thoughts on the modern company town

Tennessee Ernie Ford may have lamented owing his soul to the company store, but for many years life in a company town was a cherished situation for thousands of American workers, including my parents and grandparents, residents of Phillips, Texas, whose lives were a lot more “Blue Suede Shoes” than “Sixteen Tons.” Maybe the variable in play was the industry: Life in an oil town was different from life in a coal town.

As…