Folly’s news stand was The Bert’s of the 1950s
The News Stand, at the corner of East Hudson Avenue and Center Street, was a focal point of the community in 1957, popular for its fried chicken dinner and 15 cent hot dogs. In this image, owner Tommy Weinges stands at the screen door. His wife, Kitty, is the first woman on the right. Their daughter, Sallie, is the little girl standing at the front of the porch on the right. A magazine rack stood to the left when patrons entered the door.
The porch also served as the bus stop for Folly Beach students riding to school in downtown Charleston. Marlene Estridge recalls that in the early 1950s, the bus only picked up about 10 students on James Island, most of which was still farmland.
Image courtesy of Maebelle Barnett Bazzel. Images like these are included in Stratton Lawrence’s book, Images of America: Folly Beach. To purchase your own personalized signed copies, delivered to your home on Folly Beach, or to share a photo and story for next month’s Folly Flashback column, email him at strattonlawrence@gmail.com.
