...a perfectly preserved service station circa 1940s. As you can tell by the sign, it is located in Nitta Yuma, MS. Don't feel geographically ignorant for not knowing where this town is. Actually, it is not a town. Like most settled areas off of the Mississippi state highways, it has been given the name by is inhabitants and denizens of surrounding towns. A lot of places along the highways often take the name of the main road that runs through it but aren't actually incorporated. You won't find a town hall in Nitta Yuma, nor will you find a police department, post office, or neighborhood. But that's no slight to the residents of Nitta Yuma; lots of places have that settled charm about them. During my three year penance in the Mississippi Delta (I call it that because, in retrospect, it seems like I was supposed to experience that slow existence in order to work some things out of my systems), there were quite a few things that fascinated me. Above all else it was the preserved history of the Delta. Mississippi history is not always a proud one (especially if you are a person of color) but it is always intriguing. In earlier posts, you've probably seen my photos of an old plantation house and a sharecropper' shed. These pictures are of another preserved relic.
You pass this place on Hwy 61. Heading north, about an hour past Vicksburg, it appears on your left hand side. At a glance it looks like an old business that's been abandoned and you'd probably pay it no attention. If you pass it a few times, you will start to notice the still present gas pump, the service truck, the "No Tools Loaned" sign, and numerous other things that suggest this place has been intentionally kept up with all original materials. I can appreciate that upkeep effort. But, I can't help but to wonder if in it's functioning days were people like me allowed to used. I have actually looked for signs relating the former business's policy on serving what have then been called "Colored" people. I never found one. I can only assume that: A) this was a business that catered, to a certain extent, to Black customers; or B) in true Mississippi fashion those signs were removed as part of the collective effort to white wash Mississippi's past (and sometimes, present) racial inequality indiscretions. Either way, this is a great piece of architecture that gives a most vivid look into what was.
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