It’s lunch time as I write, so I’m thinking with my stomach. And my stomach is wishing that it and the rest of my body was in Wilson. Today’s Raleigh News and Observer features a mouth-watering article about one of Wilson’s culinary treasures. Sadly, work keeps me here in Chapel Hill today. But the next time I’m on the road in Wilson County, I plan to check out Dick’s Hot Dog Stand.
The postcard above and the three photos below (from Wilson Public Library and available to you via the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center website) provide you with a look at Dick’s inside and out.
http://library.digitalnc.org/u?/ncimages,3810
http://library.digitalnc.org/u?/ncimages,3811
http://library.digitalnc.org/u?/ncimages,3786
Unfortunately we don’t have a photo of the secret to Dick’s longevity. You’ll need to check out the N&O’s image gallery to see a Dick’s hot dog.
Time to eat!
The caption refers to W. Nash Street in Wilson having been “once voted one of the 7 most beautiful thoroughfares in America by National Geographic.” Google isn’t yielding validation — anybody know more?
Regardless, Nash Street seems to have seen better days:
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/14566074/article-Widely-renown-street-crumbles?instance=main_article
Lew,
My memory suggests that the frequently recalled “most beautiful” title came from a National Geographic article in the late 1930s… 1938 comes to mind. At that time the oaks bordering Nash reached across the street for nearly its entire length.
In the fall of 1954, hurricane Hazel took care of that, doing some frenzied landscaping. Perhaps half the oaks were uprooted, their branches intermeshed in the street. I recall the continuous drone of chain saws as city crews worked for days on end to clear the way.
The power was off in many Wilson neighborhoods for days. Dicks’ Hot Dog Stand opened a mobile stand in front of their business, providing at least one hot meal a day to many who had no other option.
Thanks so much for the background, Jeremy. I was struck by the similar hurricane histories of West Nash Street and Charlotte’s Queens Road West, one of the “great streets” mentioned here:
https://blogs.lib.unc.edu/ncm/index.php/2010/10/18/streets-you-cant-beat-or-maybe-you-can/
Dick’s hot dogs would’ve been appreciated in post-Hugo Charlotte — those thawing hamburgers tossed onto the backyard grill got old pretty quickly.