Who would have thought that this photo of Kaylie Henderson would become the impetus behind the pictorial folk history and culture at Rosie Hot Dog.
Jim Fair
This is only one wall at Rosie Hot Dog.
Jim Fair
Rosie Hot Dog at 101 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Jim Fair
Michelle Brown, Rosie's daughter, carries on the traditions established as Greer's favorite hot dog joint.
If a picture is worth a thousand words then the scrapbook décor of photos on the walls at Rosie Hot Dog must be worth millions.
For each person entering Rosie’s at 101 Pennsylvania Avenue there are stories, yes often more than one, and at least one picture to verify the authenticity that the person is in fact a Greer favorite son or daughter.
It was one picture, as the story goes, that turned Rosie into the unofficial Greer museum of folk history and culture. The Heritage Museum has its artifacts, the county has all the data, but Rosie Brown Anderson has the voluminous stories of the personalities that have shaped Greer.
“That’s the one, right there,” said Michelle Brown, Rosie’s daughter, pointing to a color photo of an adorable 4-year-old wearing red sneakers and a blue and white checked outfit. “That’s the one that started it all.”
Kaylie Henderson could not have known and, until Tuesday, Mitchell and Laurie Henderson didn’t know their daughter’s photo would create such a sense of endearment.
“We were born and raised in (Greer Mill) village and traded at Rosie,” said Mitchell Henderson. “I brought (the picture) one day and put it on the wall.”
Laurie, Mitchell’s wife, remembered exactly when it was taken. “It was taken by my cousin at my grandmother’s house in Little Mountain,” Laurie said. “We just thought it was a good picture and took it to Rosie.”
Butch Miller, noted as one of Greer High School’s greatest multi-sport athletes, saw Kaylie’s picture and saw an opportunity. He claimed one entire wall, about 14 inches wide and about 10 feet high, to post team photos.
When Greer hosts its annual reunion this weekend a stop at Rosie’s would be a natural for reminiscing and embellishing. If Michelle is buys preparing hotdogs Tracy Hooker is more than capable to identify most of the pictures and tell their stories.
It’s wall-to-wall memories and the storage room has boxes of photos bequeathed to Rosie Hot Dog.
Imagine the stories.
• Lanis Grubbs, as a child riding a small horse, and as an adult dressed in military garb sitting atop a horse. He would ride into town and offer to take photos of children on his horse, providing parents could afford his fee.
• Best friends Cecil Clark and Gordon (Pete) Peterson, wearing coat and tie, posed for photo at the Apalache dam bridge.
• The Victor Pirates basketball team circa early 1950s.
• 1952 Victor Mill men’s bible class.
• Sonny Burroughs at the second cancer benefit Oct. 1, 2008.
• Calgary Canada Front Street Ballpark sign with the cost of a hotdog – $12.
• Two young boys in Wild West attire, posing with toy guns pointing at the photographer.
And there are heroic stories of those like Gene Brown who served in WWII. The eldest of 13 children, he was described as everybody’s big brother. “He was a dab older than most of us, so he became a role model for all the boys at Apalache in the 1950s,” Michele said.