In the drag racing world, by 1957 the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) had more than 100 sanctioned tracks in 38 of the 48 states. Support for the organization was growing, but attacks on "hot-rodding" by the general public were still seriously hampering efforts to bring the sport fully into the mainstream.

In spite of the obstacles, however, four hundred and fifty entrants from took part in the 1957 National Championship Drags in Oklahoma City. Buddy Sampson, at the wheel of Money Oldsmobile Special, scored Top Eliminator honors and was crowned NHRA's third National Champion.

It was without a doubt the golden age of the mushrooming car culture, a time when teenagers were gaining independence and achieving social acceptance, thanks almost entirely to the automobile. As a result of this, a couple of institutions were spawned that catered to the desire of teenagers to do almost everything behind of the wheels of their beloved cars. These were the drive-in theater and the drive-in restaurant, both of which have very nearly faded from the American landscape as life and styles have changed over the years.

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Made famous in the movies and on television, places like "Mel’s Drive-In" and "Arnold’s" brought the sights and sounds of the era of the drive-in restaurant to both those who remembered them from their youth or heard about them from their parents. In either case, these were just Hollywood fabrications, mere reproductions of something that was real and vibrant nearly 50 years ago. Today, there are very few of these originals icons of an innocent age left, and even those that remain are living on borrowed time.

One of these is the Lil’ Rebel Drive-In, which served its first meal on a metal window tray in 1957. When the Lil’ rebel first opened, it was located in an area that was at the time considered "out in the boonies" as far as the good citizens of Greenville, South Carolina were concerned. Surrounded by peach orchards and located nearly three miles from the center of town, the little restaurant near the dead-end of a two-lane highway was a little off the beaten path for the general motoring public. For that very reason, however, it was made to order for the local high school crowd, who made a ritual of cruising, girl and boy-watching and dancing to the top Rock and Roll tunes of the day at a place they could call their own. A large awning extended from the entrance of the Lil’ Rebel to the road, under which car hops were kept busy carrying trays heavy with burgers, fries, shakes and vanilla Cokes to ravenous teenagers.

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In Greenville, as in countless other cities and towns across the country, local hangouts were quickly claimed by local schools as their "home turf." Shortly after the Lil’ Rebel opened its doors, Hillcrest High students made it their refuge from school and parents. Throughout the week, the place was busy, but weekends were huge. It was bumper-to-bumper every Friday and Saturday night as long lines of cars slowly paraded from drive-in to drive-in, the occupants checking out the people and the cars, many on the lookout for an impromptu drag race out on a deserted back road. Oh yes, street racing was a big part of the culture, too, and hopped-up road rockets could be found in abundance at the Lil’ Rebel.

Sometimes there were problems as groups from one school cruised through the hangout of another, of course, but in most cases the only things bruised were egos and pride, with insults and put-downs directed at the rival school’s football team often the most contentious issue. Occasionally a minor scuffle broke out, but by the next weekend those involved were friends again and all was forgotten. How things have changed!

High School life in 1957 indeed revolved around football, especially in the South, and game weekends were especially important. At the Lil’ Rebel, patrons would leave the game at halftime and drive their cars to the restaurant, parking door handle to door handle along the fences on each side of the parking lot. They would then cram themselves into as few cars as possible for the ride back to the game. That way they were insured a parking spot once the game let out and the crowds descended on the Lil’ Rebel.

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Over the years many things changed at the Lil’ Rebel. Greenville grew and expanded, the highway that ran past the place went from two lanes to four and the peach orchards were razed and replaced by used car lots, strip malls and all the other eyesores sadly associated with "progress" in today’s world. The simple pleasures associated with cruising the local hot spots in the 50s also became passé as teens of subsequent generations considered the activity to be boring and lacking any real excitement. Boy, what they missed!

As times changed, so did the Lil’ Rebel, and in 1978 brothers Spiro and Charlie Kokouras leased the restaurant from the original owner. Spiro had worked there since 1972, and he and Charlie were keen to preserve a little piece of a fast-fading American institution.

The days of the parking lot-jamming cruises on big game weekends were over, the awning had succumbed to a freak snow storm and patrons now came inside to be served, but the Lil’ Rebel was still the place to go to see and be seen if you owned a cool hot rod, even into the 1990s, when "cruise-ins" featuring some of the best custom cars and street machines in the Upstate of South Carolina were a regular fixture.

The Lil’ Rebel also drew its share of celebrity traffic, with many top Country recording artists visiting the restaurant when they played in Greenville. Folks such as Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Aaron Tippen, Michelle Wright and many others stopped by to soak up some of the authentic 50s atmosphere.

All good things must come to an end, however, and that time will soon come for the Lil’ Rebel as well. The little place "out in the boonies" was there when Rock and Roll and hot-rodding were young, and for over nearly half a century it stood as silent witness to the country’s ever-changing popular culture. Its days are numbered now, however, as the City of Greenville is buying up parcels of land in the area for further expansion, and the owner of the property has decided to sell, After 48 years, the once-thriving hangout will go the way of so many of its contemporaries, destined to fall before a bulldozer’s heartless assault.

Charlie and Spiro are building a new Lil’ Rebel, some miles away near Greer, South Carolina, and their beloved collection of memorabilia from the original will adorn the walls of the new restaurant. But they know it just won’t be the same, and they’ll miss working in the little place that was such an important part of the lives of so many for such a long time.