I bought a print of this photo as a Christmas gift for The Duchess – and have since become more and more enraptured by it.

The official Library of Congress description is “A cross roads store, bar, “juke joint,” and gas station in the cotton plantation area, Melrose, La.”

Yep, Frenchies Beer Garden was promoted as a source of “Quality Ice Cream,” whiskey, gasoline, Nehi sodas, Jax Beer, barbeque, and, no doubt, more. It was, I am certain, the place to be in Melrose, Louisiana in 1940.

This photo was taken June 1940 by Marion Post Wolcott, who worked for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression documenting poverty and deprivation.