Fermin Lucero’s Cash Store still stands in Fort Garland, Colorado, but the gas pump is long gone and the store is empty. This image can never be recaptured so, although the original slide is in poor condition, it was worth the time to scan it and rework the image to portray this old store. The murals on the wall were faded almost beyond recognition even in the 1970s.

Ft. Garland is the site of an historic “wild west” fort where Kit Carson commanded more than a century ago. It is on Highway 160 between Walsenburg and Alamosa. Was this old store a tourist stop - or a place where locals could buy everything they needed from flour and sugar to work boots?