The rugged old store where Jack Leigh made one of his most iconic photographs [“Mr. Hazel and His Dog Buster”] still stands. Hazel Frawley and Jack Leigh are both gone now, but many photographers still make the trip to Scarboro to see this old place.
In his classic work, The Ogeechee: A River & Its People [UGA Press, Athens, 1986], Leigh writes evocatively of Scarboro: On an old logging road, cracked and broken from years of neglect, where the red clay is slowly covering what’s left of the pavement, Hazel Frawley’s general store still stands. A short distance down the road, the skeletal remains of a wooden bridge stretch across the Ogeechee like ancient crosses in a forgotten graveyard…Nothing much comes this way any more, but the little clapboard store remains open. Mr. Hazel has run this store for over forty years, and he can remember when he sold everything from coffins to candy. The shelves are virtually bare now, except for a few canned goods and several different sizes of wash tubs that hang form the overhead rafters. Those who travel the Ogeechee River have been stopping by the store for as long as anyone can remember, stopping by for a Moon Pie and an RC Cola.
C. J. Bremer wrote to say that his great-grandfather, G. E. Burns, owned this store in the early 1900s.
Bob Dailey recalled: My grandparents lived about 300 yards from Mr. Hazel’s store. I spent the better part of my childhood summers on the front porch of that old store. I had a sack full of penny candy in one hand and the other scratching the ears of Buster or one of the other dogs hanging around. This old building holds a special place in my heart.
Lamar Sanders, a good friend of Vanishing South Georgia, recently shared these archival images from a visit he made to Frawley’s Store in 1984. They offer a glimpse of what makes this place so special and I’m very honored that Lamar shared them with me. Please credit Mr. Sanders if sharing the archival images.
Mr. Hazel Frawley in front of his store, Scarboro, Georgia, 1984. Courtesy Lamar Sanders.
Lamar notes: Mr. Frawley did not approve of women going down to the river wearing pants instead of dresses, because he thought pants were a sign of sinfulness.
It’s still standing along with the home across the road. Surprisingly it is still in good shape. The cemetery behind his has a lot of history
We are related to the Frawleys, our maternal grandmother was Gussie Frawley.
Have a pic of your collection?
That is so cool. Random question…do you collect Georgia local history books? if so, I would love to see your collection. I collect Louisiana ones.
Thanks. I agree. I do collect Georgia books, of all kinds!