Making Groceries: Community Life in South Louisiana, c. 1920–1930 examines how shopping, food, labor, and trade shaped everyday life and community in rural Louisiana. Centered on the rural general store, the exhibition uses everyday objects to reveal the social and cultural systems that connected households, communities, and regional markets.

Created by LSU Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation students through the Material Culture course (DART 7004), Spring 2026.

Opening Reception
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
4:30–7:00 p.m.
LSU Rural Life Museum

Created by LSU Doctor of Design in Cultural Preservation students through the Material Culture course (DART 7004), Spring 2026, this exhibition explores everyday life, foodways, trade, and community in rural South Louisiana through objects connected to the general store.

Exhibition Mission

You are what you consume. This exhibition examines the daily consumption and shopping practices of rural South Louisiana in the 1920s and 1930s. Using everyday objects associated with a rural general store, it explores how foodways, labor, and local trade shaped community identity and reflected the region’s cultural landscape.

What You Will Explore

Discover how the rural general store served as the heart of community life by providing essential goods, connecting families to regional trade networks, and creating a place for social gathering. The exhibition highlights the wetland harvesting traditions of alligator hunting and frog gigging, the role of store-bought staples in kitchen life and cuisine, the importance of coffee culture in everyday routines, and the economic systems that shaped rural South Louisiana.