“A typical rural Saturday night back then was a lot more bustling than it is today. For an hour or two, any small town in America might be jammed with double-parked cars, with their well-dressed riders strolling or just standing about, listening to the high school band, talking politics or busily shopping. Hoffman was sent to record this American phenomenon for history and chose Franklin, Indiana, with its population of 6, 200.”

Photograph by Bernard Hoffman, 1940.