The Colonel and The Colonel and The Colonel's Restaurant

The Colonel has a history with The Colonel...Colonel Sanders that is. He worked at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant for two years while in high school. He was a fry-cook.

The Colonel used to wear a Caduceus pin on his uniform to inform everyone that he was a "Doctor of Fryology".

WNAP, a classic/album rock radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana held a raft race down the White River for nine years (1974-1983). In 1982, The Colonel and co-workers talked their boss into allowing them to build a raft and join the race. His boss not only said sure, but also funded the majority of the project.

The 8'x8' raft was constructed at The Colonel's house and my (future) Favorite-Father-In-Law helped (wild horses could not have dragged him away from the project). The raft was made in the image of a KFC meal box.

The Colonel, his father and a couple of co-workers paddled, or swam next to the raft for the entire four mile race.

At the height of the WNAP Raft Race it is reported that there were around 1,400 rafts floating down the White River and at least 100,000 people waiting at the race's egress point, Broad Ripple Park, listening to live music.

The Colonel says that he is surprised that he did not contract a disease while swimming in the White River back then.

So, now back to more recent times...The Colonel and I had just left Fort Boonesborough and it was near lunchtime. My pre-trip planning had us making a stop in North Corbin, Kentucky. There we pulled into the parking lot of Sanders Cafe, aka the original KFC.

Inside the cafe there was also a museum. The Colonel and I walked in, ordered our lunch at the counter and then found a table that overlooked the original kitchen where Colonel Sanders created and perfected his world famous, "finger-lickin-good" chicken.

This was Colonel Sanders' office.

There were glass cases filled with all kinds of KFC and Sanders memorabilia.

A display containing original furniture and dishes from the early days of the cafe were behind glass.

Colonel Harland Sanders not only ran a cafe but he also ran his own motor court next door. The diorama below shows what the cafe and motor court looked like in their day. The court is no longer there.

Inside the cafe/museum was a mock-up of what the rooms used to look like. Colonel Sanders always prided himself on the cleanliness of his rooms.

Colonel Sanders had a very interesting life before he became famous for his chicken at the age of 65.

He was a lawyer, midwife, tire salesman and more...visit these two links to learn more about Harland Sanders.

Colonel Sanders and I share the same birthday and we were both born in Indiana (he didn't like math either). I always knew there were other reasons why I liked him and his chicken.

Last summer The Colonel and I passed through Louisville, Kentucky and we stopped at Cave Hill Cemetery. It is a large and beautiful cemetery and it is where Colonel Harland Sanders is buried. We wanted to stop and pay our respects to the founder of KFC. 

  

Colonel Sanders died in 1980. He said, "I never had the desire to be the richest man in the cemetery". Before his death he gave millions of dollars to many charities, schools and hospitals.

The Colonel and I joke that we can never visit another KFC restaurant now, because we have been to the original...come to think of it, as of the writing of this post, we have not been to another KFC since June.