City Buzz

“This Old House is Still Standing”by Mary Riggs LeBusThis Week: The Old KY Homes of KFC's Colonel Harland SandersIt all began in Corbin, KY when HarlandSanders was 40 years old. The Henryville, INnative had moved to Corbin & began to servefood at his service station. The Sanders Court &Cafe was home to 32 guest rooms, 32 tile baths,a service station & a small dining area. By 1939,Col. Sanders had perfected his blend of 11 herbs& spices & Pete Harman of Salt Lake City, UTbecame the first KY Fried Chicken franchisee in1952. Three years later, Sanders incorporated KFC because his $ 105 a month SocialSecurity income was not enough to live on. In 1956, he sells the Corbin restaurant &travels the country to enlist new franchisees & signs his first international franchisee inCanada. Today, the original dining area, kitchen & Sanders' office serves as a smallmuseum to honor the Colonel & attract tourists to the area. A new KFC restaurant hasbeen built adjacent to the museum. The Sanders Court motel is no longer standing.In 1959, Sanders & his wife, Claudia move to Shelbyville,KY & make Blackwood Hall on U.S. 60 their home. Theybuild an office & a warehouse behind Blackwood Hall whichserves as the corporate headquarters of KFC. In 1964, theSanders sold KFC, with more than 600 restaurants, to a groupof investors, including future KY Gov. John Y. Brown, Jr.The Sanders opened the Claudia Sanders Dinner House in1968, originally called the Colonel's Lady, in the formerwarehouse & office which once served as KFC headquarters.After running the restaurant for five years, Claudia Sanders decided to franchise theoperation & awarded the first franchise to present day owners, Cherry & Tommy Settle.On Mother's Day, May 10, 1999, the original Claudia Sanders Dinner House was totallydestroyed by fire. Today, a new dinner house has been rebuilt on the same site but it hasbeen enlarged to 24,000 square feet & can seat up to 700 guests. Banquet facilities areavailable for weddings, parties, & conferences. The Settles reside in Blackwood Hall, theformer home of Col. & Mrs. Sanders.In the early 1970's, the Sanders built a home onSmithfield Road in Shelbyville where they resided untilCol. Sanders death in 1980, at age 90 of leukemia. Hisbody lied in state in the KY capital rotunda & was buriedin Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery. Claudia Sanderseventually moved to the Brentwood subdivision where sheremained until her death in 1996. In 1997, an auction washeld at her Brentwood home where Joe Ruble purchasedmore than 100 photographs & other memorabilia of theCol. & Mrs. Sanders.Though Col. Sanders is one of the most internationally recognized faces, many believehis image was simply a marketing tool for KFC. The man behind the myth did exist & hischicken was "Finger Lickin' Good"! Was he really a Colonel? In 1935, Gov. Ruby Laffoondubbed Sanders a KY Colonel in recognition of his contribution to the state's cuisine.P 10P 15