Hi Fairfield County! First off, my mother, Anne O'Hara Burns, loved everybody!
In 1947, Annie O'Hara, a Danbury High School senior got a chance to buy a tumbled-down hotdog stand on Route 6 for five-hundred dollars. She never looked back. "Anne's Charcoal Grill" became a mecca for every car-driving kid for miles.
Along with "The Sycamore" in Bethel, and "Moffa's" on the stateline, "Anne's" helped make the babyboom a GREAT TIME. When I look through old photos, I envy everyone who got to sit out under the stars, laugh and eat a "Tobin's First Prize" hotdog, mercilessly charred by my mother. Gracing the snapshots... Kay Miller Horn, William "Lump" Miller, MaryLou Carlo, Terry Nelligan, Nellie "Shag" Beirman, and all the other guys and girls who worked with my Mom. What a crew! My first real recollection is peeling and slicing potatos for french fries. For junkfood, I guarantee, it never got fresher! I remember tapping my toe to the tunes generated by Mr. Donofrio's jukebox, when the stand moved to the Lake... and then out to Germantown.

To this very day, I thank my Mom's car-hops for taking me out to Lake Candlewood and the pool on Locust Avenue (was it the Lions Club?) and teaching me how to swim. With a retinue of a half-dozen, beautiful swimsuit-wearing lifeguards, I felt like a million dollars. (Probably - the best I'll ever feel!)

You hotdog-eating Danburians are like my family... big brothers and sisters who came before Annie's "other family."

I've never seen this website before, but I'll check-in every now and then. If you've got any stories or memories about my Mom or the hotdog stand, please share.

your kid brother, Robert (Robby) Burns

rpburns@ireland.com