Margaret's Grocery and Market - Rev. Hermon D. and Margaret Dennis
Artist-built Environment | Environment | Visible from the street
Between 1959 and 1979, Margaret’s Grocery was the only grocery store owned and operated by a Black woman anywhere along Highway 61, known as “blue highway” that runs from Minnesota down thru the Mississippi delta to New Orleans. It had your typical fare for daily life plus a jukebox and slot machine.
Margaret and her late husband ran that rural grocery outside Vicksburg, until he was fatally shot by a neighborhood kid during a robbery in the 70s. Five years later, Margaret met Reverend Dennis through the ladies at church. They married in 1979 and began to fix up the place to attract attention, so the preacher could share the word of God. (Goodbye jukebox, beer and slot machine, hello impassioned sermons and dazzling colors and signs.
Rev. Dennis began to paint the building red, white, and some blue, but Margaret added the crowning touches of pink and yellow. During WWII, he was trained as a bricklayer, and he says the pinks, yellows and reds he's painted this place with should remind people that "you can't have a bouquet of flowers without different colors. We're all God's children."
Brick towers and signs abound, welcoming “Jews and Gentiles” with various symbols of the double-headed eagle of the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, of which he was a member. The interior of the store is elaborately decorated with beads and bold paint, and as well is the church bus, which also had pews and a pulpit for preaching.
Along with the distinctive towers that flank the complex, and the scriptures that adorn the walls, Reverend Dennis had outfitted an old school bus with an altar, and decorated it like no other.
When the Reverend was in his late 80s and couldn't hear very well, he could still outpreach just about anybody.
Things at Margaret's have changed dramatically since the passing of Reverend Dennis and his wife, Margaret. Although this premier folk art environment was bequeathed to their church, it has fallen into disrepair, with some of the pieces put into storage, with hopes that the Mississippi Folk Art Foundation can do restoration. If you can help, please consider donating. https://gofundme.com/savemargaretsgrocery
Sources: Lucky Mojo: "Margaret's Grocery And Market"Thrillist: This Piece of Roadside Art Is Collapsing, but One Woman Is Fighting to Save It https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/margarets-grocery-store-vicksburg-mississippi-suzi-altman
Creator: Reverend H.D. and Margaret Dennis:
Reverend Dennis 1916-2012
Margaret 1916-2009
Creation date: 1979-2012
4535 North Washington St
Vicksburg, MS
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