For many, ‘The Onion Man’ is a throwback to a different Hilton Head

Recent pieces by our own David Lauderdale recalled the famous ‘Onion Man’ of Hilton Head, who would bring his school bus of onions into town and set up shop for locals and tourists alike.

The articles led to many readers sharing their memories of the Onion Man (a.k.a. Jack W. Tapley of Vidalia, Ga.) from his 20-plus years of Hilton Head visits, a time where it wasn’t so easy to track down Vidalia onions.

A little digging discovered a mention of Tapley, unnamed, in the book ‘Images of America: Hilton Head Island,’ published in 1998 by Arcadia Publishing in partnership with the Coastal Discovery Museum.

The caption, paired with the photo above (originally printed by The Island Packet), reads, “Vidalia onions, grown in nearby Georgia, used to be available in only a few locations. One such place was the “Onion Man’s” school bus. During onion season, he parked the bus in a vacant lot near the corner of Arrow Road and Highway 278 and sold bags of Vidalia onions.”

Here’s a sample of what readers remember about the Onion Man’s visits. What do you remember about that time? Comment below the article to share.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "For many, ‘The Onion Man’ is a throwback to a different Hilton Head."