Enjoyed this piece that highlights a big part of the rural south, and if you've ever lived here or visited, you know how some towns can rely on a single station as their main restaurant.
The video follows the travel of Kate Medley, and she shoots her documentary work on Nikon, at least in this piece. Peeped the 28-135 PZ!
Excellent video, and I love the photography she did. I tend to try to eat healthier than the fare most of these places serve, but I still like seeing these types of businesses in small towns. I lived in the South for 17 years before needing to move 4 years ago, and my wife and I would purposely go exploring through towns way out in the middle of nowhere many weekends. It's so fun the places you find, and yes, you do run across some amazingly good food in some of them.
Thanks for sharing! I’ve never been to that part of the US. Closest is probably Texas.
RoamingScott wrote:
Enjoyed this piece that highlights a big part of the rural south, and if you've ever lived here or visited, you know how some towns can rely on a single station as their main restaurant.
The video follows the travel of Kate Medley, and she shoots her documentary work on Nikon, at least in this piece. Peeped the 28-135 PZ!
Didn’t know you could shoot reportage without using a Leica… /s
Kidding aside, I like the video and the idea behind the shots, but I think the images themselves are oversaturated. The video footage has better colors to my eyes, better conveying the places and challenges.
RoamingScott wrote:
Enjoyed this piece that highlights a big part of the rural south, and if you've ever lived here or visited, you know how some towns can rely on a single station as their main restaurant.
The video follows the travel of Kate Medley, and she shoots her documentary work on Nikon, at least in this piece. Peeped the 28-135 PZ!
Gas station / convenience stores are extremely important to many small communities across the US, not just in the south. I have spent plenty of time in them over the years and make a point to fuel up and/or buy food and supplies from independent stores as much as I can when traveling. It’s nice to see someone shining a light on them and the unique cultures you find at each one. At least in North Carolina, many are falling victim to ‘dollar’ stores and corporate chain convenience stores that continue to proliferate like weeds.
The only point of contention I have with the documentary is that Chapel Hill is in no way rural. Home to one of the largest universities and largest, most advanced hospital system in the state, it also includes a portion of the Research Triangle Park, and is part of the Raleigh-Durham metro with over 1 million residents…
Thanks for the share Scott. We have a local gas station and grill just outside of Waco, the Harris Creek Grocery, which sells gas and slings a mean burger. It is steadily being surrounded by suburban development but it has a loyal following still and it doesn’t hurt that there is a well drilling service behind the station that fills all of their trucks at the station.
In the same vein as the small town gas station/grocery store/watering holes were the classic old country store and gas station. We had one in rural Falls County just two miles from where my dad grew up that finally closed after a hundred plus years when the owners got too old and couldn’t find a buyer. I had family who were cooks/waitresses there at various time. It was a grand place to go get a lunch special during the summers when I would be working on the family farm. I could get a chicken fried steak, steak fingers, fresh catfish (not farm raised) sides, a slice of cake and a quart cup for iced tea or water. It sure hit the apot when we got out of the melon fields. They did fish fries every Friday and folks came from all around. Country folk, laborers, farm hands, retirees, bankers, all sharing the same space. You never knew who you would end up joining at a table but I can promise you my uncle knew almost all of them! Truly hurt to lose that place. This documentary hit very close to home.
ahinesdesign wrote:
Gas station / convenience stores are extremely important to many small communities across the US, not just in the south. I have spent plenty of time in them over the years and make a point to fuel up and/or buy food and supplies from independent stores as much as I can when traveling. It’s nice to see someone shining a light on them and the unique cultures you find at each one.
I agree with your first sentence. These stores, in Iowa anyway, are often the only business in town, beyond a tsvern,
and grain elevator. They also can represent big business. Many in the Midwest may have heard of Caseys convenience stores,
Caseys is based in the local metro area. There are 68 Caseys in the metro, and 550 in Iowa. The business extends to 20 states
with a total of 2900 stores and a market cap of $28.8 billion.
Caseys has a bit of a reputation for running "Mom and Pop " stores out of business, over the years.
Casey’s just hit the next town over. Luckily they’re in the middle of nowhere, and not directly competing with anything local, but as a convenience store, they are one of my least favorite… way too many bad house brands instead of good options!
They’re only saving grace is their occasional exclusive Mountain Dew fountain drink flavors
I have lived in the Boston area for 50+ years but I was born in and grew up in the south. It strikes home for me.
It also reminds me of the "Wild Kingdom" episodes where Marlin Perkins says "We are the first people ever to enter this cave", and then you think "Who's operating the video camera in front of them?"
When I left the world of endless freeways and non-stop suburban life in the los Angelas region in 1963 and moved to rural northwest California (Humboldt County), filling stations were places to gas up and have minor things done to your car, but I don't recall any of them delt with food like I saw in this nice piece. However, they WERE "hangouts" for many people and station owners were usually very gregarious. I was standing in the corner of one while my car was being lubed when president Kennedy was assassinated and to this day, when I drive by that still operating station, those times come back to me. Now, almost all these small stations are gone, most torn down; but there are two examples very near where I live - one still standing on an abandoned lot, while the other is now a busy little coffee shop that has artfully retained many of the old artifacts of the past.
The old cars frequently needed some kind of maintenance. They also had low gas mileage so you had to stop more often. Cars were easier to work on so the local mechanic could handle most anything without special equipment. Then many stations converted the mechanical stuff to mini-mart. Today I imagine it's tough for local independent places to stay in business.
