Col. Sanders for Senator!

This election year, It's my goal to bring you the hard-hitting political talk you shouldn't get anywhere else. Today's topic is when Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harland "Colonel" Sanders tried to become a politician, running for state senate, as evidenced by this campaign flyer:



He didn't become a State Senator. Of course, he wasn't a Colonel either. I think he didn't even win the Republican primary.

His campaign slogan should have been: A Chicken in every fryer.
A bad slogan would have been: He's Finger Lickin' Good!

Edited on Feb 28, 2008 to add: Jacob on Flickr had a really good comment that I wanted to share here: I Guess that makes him "right wing."

The above image, as well as all of the following ones come from the First Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant and Museum in Corbin, KY. Harland Sanders opened his first restaurant, the Sanders Cafe, along the well-traveled Dixie Highway in Corbin. That restaurant has been preserved and operates today as a modern KFC as well as a Museum to Sanders.



At this point I should note that I was here at about the poorest time in my life, as I had been unemployed for several months in the summer of 06. (my wife was working at the time and I was drawing unemployment.) Right before I started my new job as a temp employee for an outsourcer in a Hewlett Packard facility, we decided to take a discount vacation. We went to the free Cumberland Falls and this free museum where we could stop for fast food. I should also note that this was a distant #2 on what was most important on our itinerary. We also had to stay at this Economy hotel. But I digress, so let me halfway un-digress back to Sanders Cafe.



Col Sanders is everywhere. Prominent in the lobby is the bust of Col. Sanders.
If you are so inclined, you can sit on a bench with a statue of Col. Sanders in the back. Or, if your so inclined, on the right, you can pick your next tourist destination when the novelty of a KFC museum wears off.



The original Kitchen, preserved for posterity on display behind a barrier.



Col Sanders bobblehead, and he's holding a bucket of chicken!



At the time of the Cafe, Sanders also owned a motel next door, called Sanders Court. Here is a small model of what the restaurant and Court looked like back then.



Apparently, there's enough space in the Restaurant to recreate a motel room from the Sanders court. Notice the Old-timey phone on the wall. When I got back from this trip, I had sent this picture to some people saying we had stayed here. Ironically, it was nicer than where we really stayed.

I wonder which other fast food chains have a similar type museum. A few years back, my wife and I were vacationing in Chicago and we came not too far from the first McDonalds museum. Is there a Subway museum that displays Jared's big pants? What about a MinitBurger museum?

28063

(?)