Seven men and a woman stand on the wooden sidewalk in front of Greenlee & Benson Mercantile at the corner of 2nd and Rose Streets (now 10th and Illinois Streets). Pictured left to right are: Christian Sabeal, Horace Moore (father of H. Glenn Moore of Sidney), Louis Wassem (who was later County Treasurer), Hans P. Benson and A.D. Greenlee (the business partners), Miss Edna Murless (bookkeeper), Dan Davison (employee and uncle of Miss Laura Rudd of Sidney) and James O'Kane (father of Mrs. Ed Stokes of Sidney).The two-story clapboard storefront building in this 9-1/2" x 5-3/4" black and white photograph has "Greenlee & Benson" on an attached sign and "Groceries." painted directly on the front. An rolled-up awning is attached to a second floor balcony which sits over the right section of the building and an outside staircase goes up the right side along the street. Signs hanging on the side of the building and the staircase read: "W.P. Miles, Att'y at Law, Room 2." The horse-drawn wagon with driver at the right is a delivery wagon for the store. The man in the derby standing behind the delivery wagon may be Guss Granneman, a Civil War veteran.
The business later became the Sidney Mercantile Co. owned by the Greenlee family. The Sidney Silver Coronet band gave a concert from the balcony on this building in 1903. The cement building at the rear was a store room and the trees beyond were in the Sharmer yard. The Sharmer home was a social center, he was Sidney's first elected Mayor, Kathryn Sharmer is Mrs. Earl Kratz. W.P. Miles was a self-educated attorney.
