Last week I talking in length about how the construction of Interstate Highway 49 through Central Louisiana made virtual ghost towns out of several once prosperous communities. My feature on the Oasis 24 Hour Truck Stop highlighted just how businesses along US 71 became abandoned after travelers and truckers alike moved on to the highway to the west.
If you continue on US 71 south from The Oasis you will soon arrive in the farming town of Lecompte. There, hidden in the overgrowth on the east side of the road just before the end of town, is what remains of a family owned gas station. The pumps are gone, the back of the structure has rotted completely away and the property is so overgrown with native vegetation you could pass by it and not notice it a all.
Locals tell me that the couple that owned it had to give it up due to their declining health and lack of business. Reportedly they were very loving and trusting people who would let locals pay for fuel with an IOU. That's a part of small town Americana that is never coming back.
Makes you want to pine away for the good old days doesn't it?
If you want to check out this location I would suggest you do it soon. The elements have taken a toll on the property and it is one strong storm or hurricane away from falling in on itself.
It's a shame really that no one ever established a small store there or even lifted a finger to preserve it as a tourist destination. Sadly, this is the case all around the area where interesting and even sometimes historical structures have been abandoned, torn down or left decay into a pile of rubble.
Hanks’ Garage for years. LeCompte was a thriving, active small town when I was a kid. My grandparents owned a grocery and my parents eventually took over after my grandfather died. My grandfather had the IOU system. He would often load up his truck with staples (rice, sugar, coffee, flour, dried beans, etc) and take them to a local family who had fallen in hard times (always after dark so as not to embarrass them). If they had children he would include some candy and shoes (he was also a cobbler) for them. He understood what it was to be hungry and shoeless and he couldn’t stand to see children without shoes. When he became able to he helped others. It’s how people did things back then. We need to get back to the “love your neighbor” days.
ReplyDeleteIt’s sad to see how our little town has become so run down. It needs good, strong leadership to get it back on track.