How does Bryson generalize towns from his youth in the nonfiction book, The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-town America?

When Bryson describes the small towns of his youth, he paints them as all being the same: there is always a restaurant named "Vern's" and Pella is atypical. This description may seem critical, but Bryson seems to take comfort in this sameness. What he doesn't like is the sameness of shopping mall after shopping mall within these towns he remembers from his youth.