Thank You Colonel Sanders

Dateline CORBIN, KENTUCKY
We left the Great Smoky Mountains behind and headed north, quickly passing through Tennessee (it's a skinny state). Not far north of the Kentucky border, we saw a brown sign, "Birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Museum", next right. I looked at Gene. "This is it! The only place I've ever been in Kentucky. Want to go?" A nod of his head and we made our exit off I-75.

Corbin, KY, is just a dot on the map along Hwy. 25, once known as the Dixie Highway and the major artery for vacationers headed to Florida. When they built the interstate, they bypassed Corbin, and the gas station and restaurant that built its fame on Harlan Sanders' chicken dinners went bust. Col. Sanders began peddling his chicken recipe across the country, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC today, was born.

Today, the Corbin store is a KFC franchise. As the site of the first store, I had flown there from Phoenix to accept an award on behalf of Fr. Bill Wasson, founder of Friends of the Orphans. He had been named an "Amazing Senior" (along with John Glenn that year) and received the Colonel's Way Award and a check for $5,000. It was a big deal for this town. Tony Randall was there, they broadcast the event from a huge media tent, and Randall interviewed Fr. Bill, who was in Europe, by phone.

The museum has lots of memorabilia from the early chicken restaurant days. Gene and I took our photos with a Col. Sanders statue, bought a bucket of chicken for dinner and were on our way after our brief visit. Thank you, Colonel Sanders, for our fun little detour!