Colonal sandersAccording to his 1974 autobiography, before
Harland Sanders became a world-famous Colonel, he was a sixth-grade
dropout, a farmhand, an army mule-tender, a locomotive fireman, a
railroad worker, an aspiring lawyer, an insurance salesman, a
ferryboat entrepreneur, a tire salesman, an amateur obstetrician,
an (unsuccessful) political candidate, a gas station operator, a
motel operator and finally, a restaurateur.At the age of 65, a new
interstate highway snatched the traffic away from his Corbin, Ky.,
restaurant and Sanders was left with nothing but a Social Security
check and a secret recipe for fried chicken.As it turned out, that
was all he needed.Sanders was born in Henryville, Ind., in 1890.
Six years later, his father died, forcing his mother to enter the
workforce to support the family. At the tender age of six, young
Harland was responsible for taking care of his younger siblings and
doing much of the family's cooking.A year later he was already a
master of several regional dishes. Over the course of the next 30
years, Sanders held many of the jobs listed above, but throughout
it all his skill as a cook remained.In 1930, the then 40-year-old
Sanders was operating a service station in Corbin, Kentucky, and it
was there that he began cooking for hungry travelers who stopped in
for gas. He didn't have a restaurant yet, so patrons ate from his
own dining table in the station's humble living quarters. It was
then that he invented what's called home meal replacement selling
complete meals to busy, time-strapped families. He called it,
Sunday Dinner, Seven Days a Week.As Sanders' fame grew, Governor
Ruby Laffoon made him a Kentucky Colonel in 1935 in recognition of
his contributions to the state's cuisine. Within four years, his
establishment was listed in Duncan Hines' Adventures in Good
Eating.As more people started coming strictly for the food, he
moved across the street to increase his capacity. Over the next
decade, he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and
the basic cooking technique that is still used today.In 1955,
confident of the quality of his fried chicken, the Colonel devoted
himself to developing his chicken franchising business. Less than
10 years later, Sanders had more than 600 KFC franchises in the
U.S. and Canada, and in 1964 he sold his interest in the U.S.
company for $2 million to a group of investors including John Y.
Brown Jr. (who later became governor of Kentucky).Until he was
fatally stricken with leukemia in 1980 at the age of 90, the
Colonel traveled 250,000 miles a year visiting KFC restaurants
around the world. His likeness continues to appear on millions of
buckets and on thousands of restaurants in more than 100 countries
around the world.Not bad for a man who started from scratch at
retirement age.
Colonel SandersFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaColonel
Sanders
Sanders in October 1972
BornHarland David SandersSeptember 9, 1890Henryville, Indiana,
United States
DiedDecember 16, 1980(aged90)Louisville,Kentucky, U.S.
Causeof deathComplications frompneumoniaandleukemia
NationalityAmerican
EducationLa Salle Extension University
OccupationBusinessman
Board memberofKentucky Fried Chicken(founder)
ReligionDisciples of Christ
Spouse(s)Josephine King (divorced)Claudia Price
ChildrenHarland David Sanders, Jr.Margaret SandersMildred
Sanders Ruggles
ParentsWilbur David SandersMargaret Ann Sanders(ne
Dunlevy)[1]
Signature
ColonelHarland David Sanders[a](September 9, 1890 December 16,
1980) was an American businessman, best known for foundingKentucky
Fried Chicken(KFC), and later acting as the company'sgoodwill
ambassadorand symbol.Sanders held a number of jobs in his early
life, such as afireman,insurancesalesman and runningfilling
stations. He began selling fried chicken from his roadside
restaurant inCorbin, Kentucky, during theGreat Depression. Sanders
identified the potential of the restaurantfranchisingconcept, and
the first KFC franchise opened in Utah in 1952. The company's rapid
expansion across the United States and overseas saw it overwhelm
him however, and in 1964 he sold the company to a group of
investors led byJohn Y. Brown, Jr.andJack C. Masseyfor $2
million.Contents[hide] 1Early life and education 2Early career
3Later career 4Public image 5Death 6Legacy 7Footnotes 8Further
reading 9See also 10External linksEarly life and
education[edit]Sanders was born on September 9, 1890 in a four-room
house located 3 miles (5km) east ofHenryville, Indiana.[2]He was
the oldest of three children born to Wilbur David and Margaret Ann
(ne Dunlevy) Sanders.[2]The family attended theAdvent Christian
Church.[3]The family were of mostly Irish and English ancestry.His
father was a mild and affectionate man who worked his 80 acre farm,
until he broke his leg after a fall.[2]He then worked as a butcher
in Henryville for two years.[2]One summer afternoon in 1895, he
came home with a fever and died later that day.[2]Sanders' mother
obtained work in a tomato-canning factory; and the young Harland
was required to look after and cook for his siblings.[2]When he was
10 he began to work as a farmhand for local farmers Charlie Norris
and Henry Monk.Sanders' mother remarried in 1902, and the family
moved toGreenwood, Indiana.[4]Sanders had a tumultuous relationship
with his stepfather, and in 1903 he dropped out of school, and went
to live and work on a nearby farm.[4]He then took a job painting
horse carriages inIndianapolis.[4]When he was 14 he moved to
southern Indiana to work as a farmhand for Sam Wilson for two
years.[4]In 1906, with his mother's approval, he left the area to
live with his uncle inNew Albany, Indiana.[5]His uncle worked for
thestreetcarcompany, and secured Sanders a job as a
conductor.[6]Early career[edit]Sanders falsified his date of birth
and enlisted in theUnited States Armyin November 1906, completing
his service commitment as ateamsterinCuba.[5]He was honorably
discharged after three months and in 1907 moved toSheffield,
Alabama, where an uncle lived.[5]There, he met his brother Clarence
who had also moved there in order to escape his stepfather.[5]The
uncle worked for theSouthern Railroad, and secured Sanders a job
there as a blacksmith's helper in the workshops.[4]After two
months, Sanders moved toJasper, Alabamawhere he got a job cleaning
out the ash pans of trains from the Northern Alabama Railroad (a
division of the Southern Railroad) when they had finished their
run.[4]Sanders progressed to become afiremanat the age of 16.[4]In
1909 Sanders found laboring work with theNorfolk and Western
Railway.[4]Whilst working on the railroad, he met Josephine King
ofJasper, Alabama, and they were married shortly afterwards. They
would go on to have a son, Harland, Jr., who died young in 1932
from infected tonsils, and two daughters, Margaret Sanders and
Mildred Sanders Ruggles.[7][8]He then found work as a fireman on
theIllinois Central Railroad, and he and his family moved
toJackson, Tennessee.[4]Meanwhile, Sanders studied law by
correspondence at night through theLa Salle Extension
University.[4]Sanders lost his job at Illinois after brawling with
a work colleague.[9]While Sanders moved to work for theRock Island
Railroad, Josephine and the children went to live with her
parents.[4]After a while, Sanders began to practice law inLittle
Rockfor three years, and he earned enough fees for his family to
move with him.[4]His legal career ended after he got engaged in a
courtroom brawl with his own client.[10]After that, Sanders moved
back with his mother in Henryville, and went to work as a laborer
on thePennsylvania Railroad.[4]In 1916, the family moved
toJeffersonville, where Sanders got a job sellinglife insurancefor
thePrudential Life Insurance Company.[4]Sanders was eventually
fired for insubordination.[11]He moved to Louisville and got a
salesman job withMutual Benefit LifeofNew Jersey.[11]In 1920,
Sanders established a ferry boat company, which operated a boat on
theOhio Riverbetween Jeffersonville and Louisville.[4]He canvassed
for funding, becoming a minority shareholder himself, and was
appointed secretary of the company.[4]The ferry was an instant
success.[12]In around 1922 he took a job as secretary at theChamber
of CommerceinColumbus, Indiana.[4]He admitted to not being very
good at the job, and resigned after less than a year.[4]Sanders
cashed in his ferry boat company shares for $22,000 and used the
money to establish a company manufacturingacetylenelamps.[4]The
venture failed afterDelcointroduced an electric lamp that they sold
on credit.Sanders moved toWinchester, Kentucky, to work as a
salesman for theMichelin Tire Company.[4]He lost his job in 1924
when Michelin closed their New Jersey manufacturing plant.[13]In
1924, by chance, he met the general manager ofStandard Oil of
Kentucky, who asked him to run aservice
stationinNicholasville.[4]In 1930, the station closed as a result
of the Great Depression.[14]Later career[edit]
TherestaurantinCorbin, Kentuckywhere Colonel Sanders developed
Kentucky Fried Chicken
The world's first KFC franchise, located inSouth Salt Lake,
UtahIn 1930, theShell Oil Companyoffered Sanders a service station
inCorbin, Kentuckyrent free, in return for paying them a percentage
of sales.[4]Sanders began to serve chicken dishes and other meals
such ascountry hamandsteaks.[15]Since he did not have a restaurant,
he served the customers in his adjacent living quarters. He was
commissioned as aKentucky Colonelin 1935 by Kentucky governorRuby
Laffoon. His local popularity grew, and in 1939 food criticDuncan
Hinesvisited Sanders's restaurant and included it inAdventures in
Good Eating, his guide to restaurants throughout the US. The entry
read:Corbin, KY.Sanders Court and Caf41 Jct. with 25, 25 E. Mi. N.
of Corbin. Open all year except Xmas.A very good place to stop en
route to Cumberland Falls and the Great Smokies. Continuous 24-hour
service. Sizzling steaks, fried chicken, country ham, hot biscuits.
L.50 to $1; D.,60 to $1In July 1939 Sanders acquired a motel
inAsheville,North Carolina.[16]His Corbin restaurant and motel was
destroyed in a fire in November 1939, and Sanders had it rebuilt as
a motel with a 140 seat restaurant.[16]By July 1940, Sanders had
finalized his "Secret Recipe" for frying chicken in apressure
fryerthat cooked the chicken faster thanpan frying. As the United
States enteredWorld War IIin December 1941, gas was rationed, and
as the tourists dried up, Sanders was forced to close his Asheville
motel. He went to work as a supervisor in Seattle until the latter
part of 1942.[4]He later ran cafeterias for the government at an
Ordinance Works in Tennessee, followed by a job as an assistant
manager at a cafeteria inOak Ridge, Tennessee.[4]He left his
mistress, Claudia Ledington-Price, as manager of the Corbin
restaurant and motel.[4]In 1942 he sold the Asheville
business.[4]In 1947, he and Josephine divorced and Sanders married
Claudia in 1949, as he had long desired.[17]Sanders was
"re-commissioned" as a Kentucky Colonel in 1949 by his friend,
GovernorLawrence Wetherby.[18]In 1952, Sanders franchised "Kentucky
Fried Chicken" for the first time, toPete HarmanofSouth Salt Lake,
Utah, the operator of one of that city's largest restaurants.[19]In
the first year of selling the product, restaurant sales more than
tripled, with 75% of the increase coming from sales of fried
chicken.[20]For Harman, the addition of fried chicken was a way of
differentiating his restaurant from competitors; in Utah, a product
hailing from Kentucky was unique and evoked imagery ofSouthern
hospitality.[21]Don Anderson, a sign painter hired by Harman,
coined the nameKentucky Fried Chicken.[21]
Sanders signing his autograph, 1974.At age 65 (around 1955),
Sanders' sold his Corbin outlet after the newInterstate 75reduced
his restaurant's customer traffic.[22][23]Sanders decided to begin
to franchise his chicken concept in earnest, and traveled the US
looking for suitable restaurants. After closing the Corbin site,
Sanders and his wife Claudia opened a new restaurant and company
headquarters inShelbyvillein 1959.[24]The franchise approach became
highly successful; KFC was one of the first fast food chains to
expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada and later in
England, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-1960s. The company's rapid
expansion to more than 600 locations became overwhelming for the
aging Sanders. In 1964 he sold the Kentucky Fried Chicken
corporation for $2 million to a partnership of Kentucky businessmen
headed byJohn Y. Brown, Jr.(a then-29-year-old lawyer and future
governor of Kentucky) andJack C. Massey(a venture capitalist and
entrepreneur), and he became a salaried brand ambassador. The
initial deal did not include the Canadian operations (which Sanders
retained) or the franchising rights in England, Florida, Utah, and
Montana (which Sanders had already sold to others).[25]In 1965
Sanders moved toMississauga,Ontarioto oversee his Canadian
franchises and continued to collect franchise and appearance fees
both in Canada and in the U.S. Sanders bought and lived in a
bungalow at 1337 Melton Drive in theLakeviewarea of Mississauga
from 1965 to 1980.[26]In September 1970 he and his wife
werebaptizedin theJordan River.[27]He also befriendedBilly
GrahamandJerry Falwell.[27]Sanders and his wife reopened their
Shelbyville restaurant as "Claudia Sanders, The Colonel's Lady" and
served KFC-style chicken there as part of a full-service dinner
menu, and talked about expanding the restaurant into a chain.[28]He
was sued by the company for it.[28][29]In 1973, he suedHeublein
Inc.the then parent company of Kentucky Fried Chickenover the
alleged misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped
develop. In 1975, Heublein Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for
libel after he publicly described their gravy as "wallpaper paste"
to which "sludge" was added.[30]After reaching a settlement with
Heublein, he sold the Colonel's Lady restaurant, and it has
continued to operate since then (currently as the "Claudia Sanders
Dinner House").[28][29]It serves his "original recipe" fried
chicken as part of its (non-fast-food) dinner menu, and it is the
only non-KFC restaurant that serves an authorized version of the
fried chicken recipe.[31][32]Public image[edit]After being
recommissioned as aKentucky colonelin 1950 by GovernorLawrence
Wetherby, Sanders began to dress the part, growing a goatee and
wearing a blackfrock coat(later switching to a white suit), astring
tie, and referring to himself as "Colonel".[18]His associates went
along with the title change, "jokingly at first and then in
earnest", according to biographerJosh Ozersky.[22]He never wore
anything else in public during the last 20 years of his life, using
a heavy wool suit in the winter and a light cotton suit in the
summer.[22]He bleached his mustache and goatee to match his white
hair.[17]Death[edit]
Gravesite of Harland Sanders.
Sanders remains the official face of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and
appears on its logoSanders later used his stock holdings to create
the Colonel Harland Sanders Trust and Colonel Harland Sanders
Charitable Organization, which used the proceeds to aid charities
and fund scholarships. His trusts continue to donate money to
groups like theTrillium Health Care Centre; a wing of their
building specializes in women's and children's care and has been
named after him.[33]TheSidney, British Columbiabased foundation
granted over $1,000,000 in 2007, according to its 2007 tax
return.[34]Sanders was diagnosed withacute leukemiain June
1980.[7][35]He died at Jewish Hospital inLouisville, Kentuckyof
pneumonia on December 16, 1980 at the age of 90.[36][37][38]His
bodylay in statein the rotunda of theKentucky State
CapitolinFrankfortafter a funeral service at theSouthern Baptist
SeminaryChapel, which was attended by more than 1,000 people. He
was buried in his characteristic white suit and black western
string tie inCave Hill Cemeteryin Louisville.By the time of his
death, there were an estimated 6,000 KFC outlets in 48 different
countries worldwide, with $2 billion of sales
annually.[39]Legacy[edit]Since his death, Sanders has been
portrayed by voice actors in KFC commercials in radio and an
animated version of him has been used for television
commercials.The JapaneseNippon Professional Baseballleague has
developed anurban legendof the "Curse of the Colonel". A statue of
Colonel Sanders was thrown into a river and lost during a 1985 fan
celebration, and (according to the legend) the "curse" has caused
Japan'sHanshin Tigersto perform poorly since the incident.[40]One
of Colonel Sanders' white suits and black clip-on bow-ties were
sold at auction for $21,510 byHeritage Auctionson June 22,
2013.[41]The suit had been given toCincinnatiresident Mike Morris
by Sanders, who was close to Morris's family. The Morris family
house was purchased by Col. Sanders, and Sanders lived with the
family for six months.[42]The suit was purchased by Kentucky Fried
Chicken of Japan president Maseo "Charlie" Watanabe. Watanabe put
on the famous suit after placing the winning bid at the auction
event in Dallas, Texas.In 2011, a manuscript of a book on cooking
that Sanders apparently wrote in the mid-1960s was found in KFC
archives. It includes some cooking recipes from Sanders as well as
anecdotes and life lessons. KFC said it was planning to try some of
the recipes and to publish the 200-page manuscript
online.[43][44]
After many years of serving his secret fried chicken recipe in
his local restaurant, Colonel Harland Sanders found himself in need
of a new career. At the age of 65, he began to collect his social
security check of about $100 as he wondered how he was going to
survive financially.Colonel Sanders BackgroundGrowing up in
Indiana, household responsibilities were often left to him while
his mother worked to support the family after his father's early
death. This is how he developed his keen cooking skills as he
helped his mother take care of the other children in his
family.Several different jobs later, Sanders began his
entrepreneurial career running a service station in Kentucky while
serving his special chicken in a dining area within. As business
grew, he relocated to a restaurant close by in order to make his
original recipe with its blend of eleven herbs and spices
accessible to even more customers. He also added a motel to the
business.In 1935, at forty-five years old, Sanders was dubbed a
Kentucky Colonel by the Governor, in recognition of his fabulous
cooking skills. Subsequently, in 1940 Sanders created his
well-known "Original Recipe."Colonel Sanders New Cooking
TechniqueSanders originally prepared his chicken in an iron skillet
but soon realized that was not efficient in a restaurant setting.
In order to decrease the wait time for his customers, Sanders
modified his cooking procedure by making use of a pressure
fryer.Colonel Sanders Entrepreneurial DriveThe Sanders Court &
Caf catered mainly to travelers on their way to Florida through the
town of Corbin, Kentucky. However, in the early 1950's, a new
interstate was in the works that would cause a great loss in
business, forcing Sanders to retire and sell his
restaurant.However, the government check was small and Sanders
wasn't willing to just sit still and try to make due. He believed
there was an opportunity to market his chicken to restaurant owners
across the U.S.In his travels, he was rejected on many occasions,
laughed at about his attire of his starched white shirt and white
pants. However, Sanders persevered, and after a little over 1,000
visits, he finally persuaded Pete Harman in South Salt Lake, Utah
to partner with him. They launched the first "Kentucky Fried
Chicken" site in 1952.In the early 1960's there were over 600
franchised locations in the U.S. and Canada selling the delectable
chicken. Subsequently, in 1964 Sanders sold the franchising
operation for $2 million. The franchise has been sold three other
times since then and continues to be a well-known successful
business.
Col. Harland Sanders: American Fast Food PioneerThe Story of
Colonel Sanders
In the beginning...Colonel Harland Sanders, born September 9,
1890, actively began franchising his chicken business at the age of
65. Now, the Kentucky Fried Chicken business he started has grown
to be one of the largest retail food service systems in the world.
And Colonel Sanders, a quick service restaurant pioneer, has become
a symbol of entrepreneurial spirit.More than two billion of the
Colonel's "finger lickin' good" chicken dinners are served
annually. And not just in North America. The Colonel's cooking is
available in more than 82 countries around the world.When the
Colonel was six, his father died. His mother was forced to go to
work, and young Harland had to take care of his three-year-old
brother and baby sister. This meant doing much of the family
cooking. By the age of seven, he was a master of a score of
regional dishes.At age 10, he got his first job working on a nearby
farm for $2 a month. When he was 12, his mother remarried and he
left his home near Henryville, Ind., for a job on a farm in
Greenwood, Ind. He held a series of jobs over the next few years,
first as a 15-year-old streetcar conductor in New Albany, Ind., and
then as a 16-year-old private, soldiering for six months in
Cuba.After that he was a railroad fireman, studied law by
correspondence, practiced in justice of the peace courts, sold
insurance, operated an Ohio River steamboat ferry, sold tires, and
operated service stations. When he was 40, the Colonel began
cooking for hungry travelers who stopped at his service station in
Corbin, Ky. He didn't have a restaurant then, but served folks on
his own dining table in the living quarters of his service
station.As more people started coming just for food, he moved
across the street to a motel and restaurant that seated 142 people.
Over the next nine years, he perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs
and spices and the basic cooking technique that is still used
today.As we grew...Sander's fame grew. Governor Ruby Laffoon made
him a Kentucky Colonel in 1935 in recognition of his contributions
to the state's cuisine. And in 1939, his establishment was first
listed in Duncan Hines' "Adventures in Good Eating."In the early
1950s a new interstate highway was planned to bypass the town of
Corbin. Seeing an end to his business, the Colonel auctioned off
his operations. After paying his bills, he was reduced to living on
his $105 Social Security checks.Confident of the quality of his
fried chicken, the Colonel devoted himself to the chicken
franchising business that he started in 1952. He traveled across
the country by car from restaurant to restaurant, cooking batches
of chicken for restaurant owners and their employees. If the
reaction was favorable, he entered into a handshake agreement on a
deal that stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for each chicken
the restaurant sold. By 1964, Colonel Sanders had more than 600
franchised outlets for his chicken in the United States and Canada.
That year, he sold his interest in the U.S. company for $2 million
to a group of investors including John Y. Brown Jr., who later was
governor of Kentucky from 1980 to 1984. The Colonel remained a
public spokesman for the company. In 1976, an independent survey
ranked the Colonel as the world's second most recognizable
celebrity.Under the new owners, Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation
grew rapidly. It went public on March 17, 1966, and was listed on
the New York Stock Exchange on January 16, 1969. More than 3,500
franchised and company-owned restaurants were in worldwide
operation when Heublein Inc. acquired KFC Corporation on July 8,
1971, for $285 million.Kentucky Fried Chicken became a subsidiary
of R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. (now RJR Nabisco, Inc.), when
Heublein Inc. was acquired by Reynolds in 1982. KFC was acquired in
October 1986 from RJR Nabisco, Inc. by PepsiCo, Inc., for
approximately $840 million.In January 1997, PepsiCo, Inc. announced
the spin-off of its quick service restaurants -- KFC, Taco Bell and
Pizza Hut -- into an independent restaurant company. The spin-off
should be completed during the fourth quarter 1997. The new
restaurant company, TRICON Global Restaurants, Inc., will be the
world's largest restaurant system with more than 29,500 KFC, Pizza
Hut and Taco Bell restaurants in nearly 100 countries and
territories.Until he was fatally stricken with leukemia in 1980 at
the age of 90, the Colonel traveled 250,000 miles a year visiting
the KFC empire he founded.And it all began with a 65-year-old
gentleman who used his $105 Social Security check to start a
business.
When I read last week that a majority of Americans ages 18 to
25didn't know who Colonel Sanders was, I was shocked. According
toUSA Today, 61% of respondents didn't know who the guy with the
beard in the KFC logo was. What? They don't know who the most
famous chicken icon in the world is? A face that says "fried
chicken" to hungry people from China to Peru?For anyone who grew up
in America in the second half of the 20th century, the Colonel was
a true icon. You didn't need to be able to read to know who he was;
you didn't even need to watch TV. Anyone who drove a mile in any
direction would see his beaming, grandfatherly visage and white
suit and know that Kentucky Fried Chicken could be found there.
Maybe not everybody knew that he was the chain's founder or
remembered hisTV commercials from the '60s and '70s, when he talked
about how each piece was dipped in an "egg warsh" before frying.
But, at least, they knew he was real. Half of the young adults in
the survey, which was ordered up by the chain, assumed that he was
the creation of KFC, rather than the other way around.(See TIME's
photo-essay on food as pop culture.)I find this very disturbing.
And not because I'm in the process of writing a book about Colonel
Sanders. I don't expect anybody under 25 to read it or anybody
else, for that matter. But it hurts me as an American to think that
so many people lack such a basic piece of cultural information. I
mean, it's one thing to not know who Thomas Jefferson was or when
the Vietnam War ended. College professors brace themselves for the
ignorance of their charges and, in fact, have a good laugh about it
every year, when two academics in Wisconsin circulate, with much
fanfare,a list of how much the incoming freshmen don't know.But by
not knowing that Harland David Sanders was an actual man, who lived
an actual life, people miss out on more than they might imagine.
For one thing, the Colonel wasn't just a fast-food baron who
represented his company on TV, the way Dave Thomas (a Sanders
protg) later did. Sanders was the living embodiment of what his
food supposedly stood for. His white suit wasn't the invention of a
marketing committee; he wore it every day and was never seen in
public for the last 20 years of his life in anything else. (He had
a heavy wool one for winter and a lighter cotton one for summer.)
He was a failure who got fired from a dozen jobs before starting
his restaurant, and then failed at that when he went out of
business and found himself broke at the age of 65. He drove around
in a Cadillac with his face painted on the side before anybody knew
who he was, pleading with the owners of run-down diners to use his
recipe and give him a nickel commission on each chicken. He slept
in the back of the car and made handshake deals. His first marriage
was a difficult one, so he divorced his wife after 39 years. (His
second marriage was much happier.) He once shot a man in a gun
battle, but was never charged as the other guy started it. He was a
lawyer who once assaulted his own client in court. He was indeed a
Kentucky Colonel, an honorary title given to him by not one but two
governors. He was a Rotarian and a Presbyterian, and he deserves to
be remembered at least for having a verifiable existence.(See
pictures of what the world eats.)But after he died, at the age of
90 in 1980, his image was up for grabs. By the 1980s, the Old South
was not the most appealing image for a national chain. Nor was
fried chicken any longer the perfect food to feed your family in a
time when calorie-counting and healthy choices were already
becoming omnipresent concerns. The Colonel was for a time even
transformed into afrisky cartoon character who danced around,
dunked basketballs and affected hip-hop lingowhen he wasn't
plugging Pokmon toys. Later, perhaps in a fit of remorse, KFC
outfitted him in an apron to remind the world of his culinary
skill.Since the Colonel's death, his company has changed its name,
dropping Kentucky Fried Chicken for the more generic and
unthreatening initials KFC, even going so far as to suggest that
the letters stood for "Kitchen Fresh Chicken." Nobody was fooled.
Frequently KFC has wanted to shift its identity to something more
in keeping with the times, but it is yoked to the Colonel and his
fried legacy. And its inability to change is, in fact, the best
thing about it. There is no "original recipe" for McDonald's; that
company can change the way it makes burgers tomorrow, just like it
has in the past. The food at Taco Bell doesn't reference any
particular place or time; there's nobody to recognize, no frame of
reference to miss. Many KFC franchisees, particularly in the South,
wish that Yum! Brands, KFC's parent, would see that, and these
franchisees feel so strongly about the matter that theyhave sued
KFC. They feel that KFC'S rebranding efforts hurt the brand, and
couldn't care less if the chain's core product is "relevant," as
KFC puts it.It's hard not to see at least some grounds for their
position. After all, Colonel Sanders' 11 secret herbs and spices
are their greatest asset. That recipe is kept ina vault deep inside
corporate headquartersin Lexington, Ky., surrounded by motion
detectors and surveillance cameras; only two executives have access
to it at any time. Inside that vault, those spices are written on a
piece of notebook paper, in pencil, in Sanders' own hand. I'm told
that the paper is yellowing and the handwriting, by now, is faint.
That fragile connection to a real man and a real vision is what
makes KFC unique. I wish more people would appreciate that.Ozersky
is a James Beard Awardwinning food writer and the author ofThe
Hamburger: A History. His food video site,Ozersky.TV, is updated
daily. He is currently at work on a biography of Colonel Sanders.
Taste of America, Ozersky's food column for TIME.com, appears every
Wednesday.
Colonel Harland SandersBiographyChef(18901980) QUICK
FACTSNAMEColonel Harland SandersOCCUPATIONChefBIRTH DATESeptember
9,1890DEATH DATEDecember 16,1980PLACE OF
BIRTHHenryville,IndianaPLACE OF DEATHLouisville,KentuckyAKAHarland
SandersColonel Harland SandersColonel SandersFULL NAMEHarland David
Sanders SYNOPSIS EARLY LIFE AND CAREER KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN IS
BORN LATER YEARS RELATED VIDEOS CITE THIS PAGEColonel Sanders is
best known for creating a fried chicken recipe that would become
the world's fast-food chicken chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken.IN
THESE GROUPS FAMOUS VIRGOANS FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN HENRYVILLE
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN UNITED STATES FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN ON SEPTEMBER
9Show All GroupsQUOTESThere's no reason to be the richest man in
the cemetery. You can't do any business from there.Colonel Harland
Sanders
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UPWORTHYPOWERED BYPUBEXCHANGEColonel Sanders - Mini Bio(TV-14;
02:12)Colonel Sanders is synonymous with Kentucky Fried Chicken. He
created the recipe, franchised it, and earned worldwide
fame.SynopsisColonel Harland Sanders was born on September 9, 1890,
in Henryville, Indiana. At the age of 40, Sanders was running a
popular Kentucky service station that also served foodso popular,
in fact, that the governor of Kentucky designated him a Kentucky
colonel. Eventually, Sanders focused on franchising his fried
chicken business around the country, collecting a payment for each
chicken sold. The company went on to become the world's largest
fast-food chicken chain, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sanders died in
Louisville, Kentucky, on December 16, 1980.
Early Life and CareerBest known for founding the fast-food chain
Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Harland David Sanders was born on
September 9, 1890, in Henryville, Indiana. After his father died
when he was 6 years old, Sanders became responsible for feeding and
taking care of his younger brother and sister. Beginning at the age
of 10, he held down numerous jobs, including farmer, streetcar
conductor, railroad fireman and insurance salesman.At age 40,
Sanders was running a service station in Kentucky, where he would
also feed hungry travelers. Sanders eventually moved his operation
to a restaurant across the street, and featured a fried chicken so
notable that he was named a Kentucky colonel in 1935 by Governor
Ruby Laffoon.Kentucky Fried Chicken is BornAfter closing the
restaurant in 1952, Sanders devoted himself to franchising his
chicken business. He traveled across the country, cooking batches
of chicken from restaurant to restaurant, striking deals that paid
him a nickel for every chicken the restaurant sold. In 1964, with
more than 600 franchised outlets, he sold his interest in the
company for $2 million to a group of investors.Kentucky Fried
Chicken went public in 1966 and was listed on the New York Stock
Exchange in 1969. More than 3,500 franchised and company-owned
restaurants were in worldwide operation when Heublein Inc. acquired
KFC Corporation in 1971for $285 million. KFC became a subsidiary of
R.J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. (now RJR Nabisco, Inc.), when
Heublein Inc. was acquired by Reynolds in 1982. KFC was acquired in
October 1986 from RJR Nabisco, Inc. by PepsiCo, Inc., for
approximately $840 million.
There's no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You
can't do any business from there.Colonel Harland Sanders