We all know who Colonel Sanders is, and we all know what Colonel Sanders looks like. That's because he's that rare thing. He's the fast food tycoon who also became his brand's most iconic image, by using his own face to sell fried chicken. His white suit and black tie combination is instantly recognizable. There are statues and effigies of him all over the world, even in Hong Kong!
But then, did you know that Colonel Sanders, as well as having a famous face, has an infamous life story? It's the stuff of legend, and most of it is true.
The man who came to be known as Colonel was born Harland Sanders in 1890, in Henryville, Illinois. He had a tough childhood. His father died when he was just six years old, and Sanders, still a boy, had to grow up pretty fast. By the time he was in seventh grade, he had dropped out of school completely and started working on a farm. By 16, he was lying about his age to enlist in the US Army. That didn't last, and he was discharged (honorably) only a year later. After the army, Sanders tried working on the railways, but got fired for getting into a fight. Then, he tried law, but got fired again for fighting. By this time, he had no choice but to move back in with his mom, but he got fired yet again from his next job, selling life insurance, for disrespecting his boss. Harland Sanders was clearly never one for toeing the line!
What do you do when you've been fired from every job you've ever had? Create your own, of course! Colonel Sanders' first attempt came in 1920, when he founded his own ferry boat company. It was reasonably successful, but then he made the mistake of trying to sell it to create a company that made lamps, only to find that someone else had beaten him to it, and was doing it better.
By 40, Sanders was selling chicken in a service station. Four years later, he bought a motel, but it, and the service station restaurant, burned to the ground. He built another, but the outbreak of WW2 in the early 1940s forced him to close.
Now, whether you're a fan of fried chicken or not, you might be interested to know that the Colonel didn't actually start the company we now recognize as KFC (which stands, of course, for Kentucky Fried Chicken) until he was 65 years old. Yep - 65. He had been running a restaurant for a number of years, but when he retired, he found receiving his first social security check, for the princely sum of $105, to be a wakeup call. He might be 65, but he still wanted much more from his life.
Sanders had been sharing his fried chicken recipe, and selling the chicken to friends, family, and neighbors for some years. After getting a ton of great feedback, he decided it was time to start selling his chicken recipe and make his fortune, instead of retiring. He didn't have much at all to start with, no money and no premises, so he simply packed up his chicken recipe and started banging on doors, looking for someone who might be able to help him get started. When that didn't work, he tried calling at restaurants. When that didn't work, he got in his car and started cooking chicken for restaurant owners live and in-person. If they said yes, they would sell chicken for him. It took a good while. The rumors say there were over 1000 'no's' before a 'yes,' but he got there.
Sanders started striking deals all over the place. Each KFC restaurant that was franchised received pre-made packets of the special blend of herbs and spices that KFC chicken is still known for today. The Colonel got a nickel for each piece of chicken sold. That way, he made money from selling his recipe without having to give the recipe away. Give the recipe away, and you're no longer needed. Make sure you're the only one who knows it, and you're good to go.
By 1964, KFC was officially a big deal, with some 600 franchised restaurants all selling Colonel Sanders' secret chicken recipe. The Colonel, by now, 74, sold the company for two million dollars but stayed on as the official 'face' of KFC. By the mid-70s, when the Colonel was in his eighties, he was one of the world's most recognizable people.
It's worth mentioning at this point that, as you may have guessed, Colonel Sanders wasn't a military colonel. He was a Kentucky Colonel, a title that was conferred on him at an indeterminate point in his career. The title 'Kentucky Colonel' is given to people who have made an outstanding contribution to the state or nation, which Colonel Sanders certainly did.
Even after Sanders had sold the company, he still didn't relax and retire. Instead, he stayed on as an ambassador for KFC. However, it wasn't an entirely positive experience. He thought the new owners were making food quality worse to save money, and he certainly wasn't shy about letting them know! In fact, it got so bad that Sanders and KFC actually sued each other! Neither case was successful, but it was clear something had gone wrong between KFC and its mascot. A second lawsuit followed after Sanders and his wife became so dissatisfied with how KFC was being run that they reopened their original restaurant and named it 'Claudia, The Colonel's Lady.' KFC sued, and the Colonel was forced to settle, but the restaurant still operates as the Claudia Sanders Dinner House.
The Colonel was now well into his 80s and still refusing to slow down. However, he was diagnosed with leukemia in 1980 and died in Louisville later that year at the age of 90. By the time of his death, 6,000 KFC restaurants were operating in 48 countries around the world. You can even order KFC online, no matter where you are. Try KFC Karachi.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
