Colonel Sanders, aka Harland Sanders,
is the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sanders waited for the time he
reached his forties before he placed his skills in cooking into commercial use.
Sanders was born in Henryville,
Indiana on September 9, 1890. He showed interest in cooking at a young age and
has mastered several local delicacies to the delight of his family.
Sanders finished his law degree at
Southern University in Indiana through correspondence. He was a recipient of
some financial help from local official which enabled him to finish law. He
practiced law at Little Rock, Arkansas from 1915 into the 1920s. However, his
career in law ended abruptly when he had a physical confrontation with his
client in court. He decided to transfer to Corbin, Kentucky.
He opened a service station in Corbin. He had constant interaction with customers while
serving them meals as they stop at his station to gas up. He did not have a
formal restaurant so he served the meals through tables in the station’s foyer.
This gave Sanders a bright idea: to serve his customers with meals that are
easy to carry and they could take.
Sanders offered good tasting food,
especially his chicken. He became popular so he had to transfer to a bigger
place which can accommodate up to 142 people. As the chef of his own
restaurant, he perfected his best-selling friend chicken. He grew even more
popular that then Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon named him Kentucky Colonel.
Sanders enjoyed his popularity for
more than two decades. However, Sanders became broke in 1956. A government road
project bypassed his store which led to a plummeting price. He lived through
support from the Social Security. He went from restaurant to another to sell
his recipe. By 1960, Sanders owned over 400 “franchises.” Finally in 1964,
Sanders sold his brand and functioned as spokesperson for Kentucky Fried
Chicken until his retirement.
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