This article presents the case history of a local, informal protest group and reasons for its effectiveness and longevity. The Delta Avenue Citizens Organization (DACO), formed to prevent the construction of a bridge, has remained devoted to a single issue and unaffiliated with other groups, a course of action that may harm a social movement organization but that apparently has allowed DACO to survive for more than 25 years. In 1979 the author began studying DACO by interviewing group leaders, attending group and public meetings, and reviewing such documents as city plans and commission minutes, newspaper articles; legal briefs, and correspondence. The author attributes DACO's success thus far to three factors: emergent solidarity, the group's internal nature, and an external support system. The group has become an informal-intermittent organization with an inclusive membership, and the author considers it an efficient, resilient force within its community.
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