Colonel Sanders Article – Sept. 19, 1976

Colonel Sanders and his world renowned Kentucky Fried Chicken have been a recurring topic on this blog. 

I always found interesting that he was a latecomer when it came to chicken restaurants in Lorain, with several others (Chicken Delight, Minnie Pearl, etc.) making chicken tracks into town before him. The Lorain store on Oberlin Avenue didn't open until April 1971. 

We didn't have it very often in the early years. I remember Mom suggesting having it for dinner by saying, "How about Colonel Sanders tonight?" In later years, we brought it on picnics.

I've written before how I played 'Happy Birthday' on my trombone for the Colonel, when he visited the Ohio State Fair in 1976 and I was a member of the All-Ohio State Fair Band. He stood about ten or twelve away from me and the other trombones in our small group, and I remember thinking, "Wow, is he short!"

And I once visited his grave down in Louisville, Kentucky while visiting my sister, who lives in that fine city. (No, I didn't leave a grease-stained KFC bucket filled with flowers as a memorial.) We went to the Colonel Sanders Museum that same day as well.

Anyway, here's an interesting article about the Colonel, showing him at his crankiest. He was visiting some Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets and was less than pleased with how his famous recipe was being followed. The article (which is pretty hilarious) ran in the Journal back on Sept. 19, 1976.

The article mentions that he was handing out signed photos of himself. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something like this card (below). There's several of them on eBay right now.

I don't have Kentucky Fried Chicken very often these days. It's not the healthiest meal. But when I have a taste for it, I have to have it. Luckily that only happens about once a year.