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The paper presents the address given by the author during the general session of the Midwest Sociological Society's 25th anniversary meeting on April 13, 1962, in Des Moines, Iowa. It discusses the author's experience with the society and his participation in its previous annual conferences. During his term as secretary of the society he has observed the changes in the structure and the functions of the society since its reorganization in 1937. The most important phenomenon having implications for a regional society is the decline in regionalism of American sociology. Regionalism, in the sense that it existed in 1937 has disappeared. The birth of the society have a significant impact on the origins of modern American sociology. The educational institutions established by notable members of the society have contributed to the production of doctor of philosophy degree in sociology.

The article discusses trends and issues affecting sociology during the 25-year existence of the Midwest Sociological Society. During the covered period the influence of the pioneers in the building of American sociology, though waning, was still directly transmitted through some of their students who held key positions in sociology departments in the Midwest. The generation that first established and manned sociology departments in the burgeoning universities and colleges of the Midwest was for the most part strongly imbued with the idea and ideal of social progress. In place of social philosophies built on dubious foundations, the discipline has a nascent but growing science. The new empiric mood and objective orientation expelled not only the sociology of progress but brought into considerable disrepute the sociology of reform. Ambilances about the trends affecting the discipline of sociology have been raised by problems precipitated by the onset of the space age and mass higher education.

The article presents information on a method for studying certain aspects of parish life and reports the results of its application in a particular case. The hypothesis is that in differentiating several classes of contributors the parishioners recognized, not merely differences in ability to pay, but also differences in prestige within the parish group. Analysis reveals the sources of such prestige differences and their effects within the formal organization of the parish. The parish studied is located in a rural area of the northern Middle West. It was organized during the 1880's as a mission of the Catholic Church in the county seat some six miles distant, now a small town of about 6,500 inhabitants, and the only population aggregate over village size in the county. Church, rectory, school, and cemetery are situated in a hamlet with less than a hundred persons. Other service agencies in this center are a grocery, tavern, garage and public consolidated elementary and high school. Membership in the parish has increased at a fairly steady rate since it's founding.