Colonel Sanders (real name Garland David) is the well-known founder of the KFS fast-food restaurant chain. The branded recipe for these establishments was pieces of fried chicken in batter, seasoned with a special mixture of spices and aromatic herbs. A stylized portrait of Sanders still flaunts at all restaurants and company packaging. In fact, Garland was never an officer. He received the title "colonel" from the governor of the state for outstanding public services. In this article we will present his brief biography.
Childhood
Many clients of KFS restaurants do not even know in which year Colonel Sanders was born. Now we will fix it. Garland Sanders was born in the city of Henryville (Indiana) in 1890. The boy’s father worked as an auxiliary for local farmers. This brought the family a small income and allowed the mother to sit at home with the children. But the boy’s father suddenly died when he was six years old. To feed the children, the mother went to work, and the future Colonel Sanders sat at home all day and looked after his sister and brother. Such a life allowed the boy to discover a talent for cooking. A few months later, Garland was able to masterfully prepare several of the most popular dishes in the family. Of course, the boy had no time to study, and he had to attend school in fits and starts.
First job
At 10, he got a job on a farm. He was paid only $ 2 a month. After a couple of years, his mother remarried and sent the boy to the neighboring city of Greenwood. There he again went to the farm. At age 14, Garland finally dropped out of school. That is, the total length of his studies was only 6 classes.
Search for yourself
Until the age of 15, the future Colonel Sanders led a semi-wandering lifestyle, changing places of residence and occupation. And then Garland began to work as a tram conductor. At 16, the young man decided to join the army. He came to Cuba, which was actually a US colony at that time. There, Garland served for six months and fled, later becoming a blacksmith's assistant. Due to the low pay, the young man decided to change his profession and become a fireman. In this position, Sanders stayed longer. Garland's life began to improve, and he even married his girlfriend Claudia. But after the spouses had a baby, Sanders was unexpectedly fired. The wife loved Garland very much and was already used to his search for herself.
At one time, the future owner of KFS tried to do mental work - he entered absentee legal courses for further work in court. A few months later he was bored with this occupation. Until the age of 40, he tried many professions: car mechanic, tire seller, ferry captain, loader, insurance agent, etc.
Life begins at age 40
So imperceptibly for himself, Garland began to approach the fifth ten. He celebrated his 40th birthday in a deep depression. All his youth passed, and Sanders had neither a permanent job, nor his own home. One day he was listening to the will comedy of Will Rogers on the radio. And one of the comedian's phrases made a deep impression on Garland and turned his life upside down. She sounded like this: "Life begins only with forty years." We can say that from that moment begins the story of Colonel Sanders. From now on, Garland decided to work exclusively for himself.
Car workshop and snack bar
Small savings allowed Sanders to open his car repair shop. He very successfully chose a place near the 25th federal highway that connected Florida with the northern states. This provided a large customer flow. The future Colonel Sanders lived with his family right there, at the auto repair shop.
Over time, Garland began to offer food to tired customers on the road. He loved to cook and did it in his home kitchen, and placed visitors in a separate room. There was only one table and six chairs. The main menu was chicken, which Sanders did best. A year later, Garland had regular customers, and he noticed that it was the eatery that brought the lion's share of the income, not the car repair shop. It was decided to give the mini-institution a name. Above the entrance, Sanders hung a sign “Kentucky Special Fried Chicken”. He also came up with a technical novelty. Many diner customers were often in a hurry, and half an hour to roast the chicken seemed to Garland a very long time. The solution was found quickly. Sanders attended an advertising presentation of the newly appeared pressure cookers, where food was cooked under pressure. He bought one of the models and learned how to cook juicy chicken in just 15 minutes. Pressure cooker and spices - that was the secret to making Kentucky chickens.
Success
For the first time in his life, Garland was pleased with his own work. Firstly, he was paid for a hobby, and secondly, no one could fire him. The fame of Kentucky chickens spread rapidly. By the mid-1930s, all people who had visited Sanders' diner perceived them as a "national" Kentucky dish. Perhaps this was Garland's main success in introducing his product into the public mind. Many people did not understand how a person with six education classes and incomplete legal courses managed to achieve this.
Rank
In 1935, Roby Lafoon (Governor of Kentucky) admitted Garland to the honorary "Order of the Kentucky Colonels" with the following wording - "For Contribution to the Development of Roadside Nutrition." The title of Colonel was fueled by hidden conceit in Sanders. He decided to build a restaurant and motel near the car repair shop.
New restaurant
The opening took place in 1937. KFC founder Colonel Sanders appeared in front of the guests in a white suit with a black bow tie. The image was completed by a beard with a wedge and gray hair.
This character was a huge success with the public. Now Garland always wore only a white suit. Customers lined up. The number of chickens sold could be determined by how much seasoning was required for them. Sanders kneaded her like cement in the back room of a cafe. A few bags could have gone per day.
Those years were golden for Garland. Any problems only invigorated and forced to go forward. In 1939, an unpleasant event occurred, witnessed by Colonel Sanders. KFC is completely burned out. But Garland rebuilt it as soon as possible. In the same year, Duncan Hines (a culinary critic) mentioned his establishment in his guidebook, calling the Colonel's chickens a special landmark in Kentucky.
Business loss
In pleasant troubles, the years flew by imperceptibly, and Sanders was already thinking about a calm old age, but fate presented him with an unpleasant surprise. In early 1950, bypassing the 25th federal highway, the 75th was completed. Client flow dried up overnight. In 1952, Garland did not have enough money to maintain the "CFS". Colonel Sanders sold it at auction to pay off creditors. At 62, he lost everything he had: money, home, and work. The only thing Garland could count on was a pension of $ 105.
New business
But Colonel Sanders did not want to live as a poor pensioner and came up with a new business. He began to go around the nearest restaurants and cafes, offering them to use his author's seasoning. For this, they had to pay him 5 cents per chicken. Very few agreed. However, by the end of the 1950s, Garland had already collaborated with 200 eateries. By 1964, the number of franchises increased to 600, and Sanders received an offer to sell the business. The buyers were a group of investors who laid out $ 2 million for KFS.
