08/30/2026
🕰️ **REMEMBER WHEN… April 1977**
Take a close look at this press photo of the **Ponchatoula Country Market from April 1977**. ❤️
The Market was still in its early years, operating inside the old railroad depot, and the newspaper article preserved with this photograph gives us a wonderful snapshot of what visitors would have found here nearly **50 years ago**. The clipping itself is stamped **APR 3 – 1977**.
The article, appropriately titled **“MARKET WAS ONCE RAILROAD STATION,”** described Ponchatoula as an important center of Louisiana's strawberry industry and noted that even when strawberries weren't in season, their presence could still be found throughout the Country Market.
There were **aprons, purses, potholders and sunbonnets decorated with strawberries**, along with strawberry preserves, jelly, jam — and even **loaves of strawberry bread!** 🍓
But what we especially love is the article's description of the atmosphere inside the old depot:
> “The old railroad station has a cozy, friendly atmosphere…”
It went on to explain that the Market had become not only a place for women from Ponchatoula and nearby communities to sell the things they made, but also a place to visit. Vendors sat in chairs in front of their booths, sewing and chatting with their “neighbors” while visitors browsed for bargains.
And what a selection they had!
The article mentions **macramé plant holders, tiny animals made from marbles, wooden cradles, silver jewelry, silk roses, chipped cedar, thimble holders, sacks of chocolate fudge, African violets and beanbags shaped like leaping frogs.** 🐸
One vendor offered jars of **jelly — muscadine, plum, c**n grape, dewberry, mayhaw and strawberry** — along with fig preserves and bread-and-butter pickles.
Another booth featured **copper bracelets, sand paintings, jars of honey, dried flower arrangements, driftwood, birdhouses and bird feeders.**
And then there was the food counter. ❤️
The article says that at one end of the Market, young girls worked behind a counter where visitors could buy **lunches — red beans and rice, sausages, potato salad, assorted sandwiches — along with coffee, lemonade and soft drinks.**
In 1977, the Market was open **Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.**, February through August and again from October through December.
Now look at the photograph itself.
The **Country Market sign** hangs across the old depot. The railroad mail car is visible alongside the building. There are picnic tables out front, plants growing in barrels, the American flag flying overhead — and people gathered around a building that was already becoming part of a new chapter in Ponchatoula's history.
The trains may have stopped serving this depot, but the building had found another purpose.
🚂 🍓 **And nearly five decades later, the Ponchatoula Country Market is still here.**
Still filled with handmade goods.
Still supporting local creators.
Still a place to visit and talk.
Still making memories inside an old railroad depot.
**Who remembers the Country Market like this?** Were you a vendor, customer, or maybe one of the young people who stopped by for red beans and rice or a sandwich?
We'd especially love to know if anyone recognizes the people in this photograph. Share your memories with us in the comments! ❤️
#1977
