BENTON – Marshall County Public Library, together with Kentucky Chautauqua, will present Harland “Colonel” Sanders: More than Fried Chicken at the Benton branch of the library on Monday, June 22 from 5:30-6:30 pm.
Harland “Colonel” Sanders (1890-1980) was born to Wilbert and Margaret Ann Sanders in Henryville, Indiana, on September 9, 1890. After completing the sixth grade, Sanders quit school and over the years worked a variety of jobs — farmhand, ferry operator, secretary, tire salesman, and furniture store owner.
Sanders eventually moved to Corbin, Kentucky, where he operated a service station. He opened a lunchroom with room for six behind the station. This marked the beginning of a legendary career in the food service industry.
Not one to be easily satisfied, Sanders regularly experimented with recipes. Through his recipe trials he concocted his now-famous “eleven herbs and spices” and perfected the frying process using a pressure cooker, creating what is now known around the world as Kentucky Fried Chicken.
In addition to developing the product, Sanders worked to develop the brand. Wearing a white suit and string tie, growing a goatee and a mustache, his image soon became synonymous with fried chicken. Although he would eventually become a global icon, Sanders’ success didn’t come overnight. He began selling his chicken franchises at age sixty-six, when most people were retiring.
Sanders’ life was one of hard work, determination, perseverance, and taking advantage of the luck that came his way. Sanders died on December 16, 1980, and lay in state at the Capitol rotunda in Frankfort. Henry Dowell portrays Colonel Sanders for Kentucky Chautauqua. Dowell is the founder of The Gusto Theatre Company, a group dedicated to educational theatre and the performance of new works as well as the classics.
He is a graduate of Morehead State University and attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. He is an actor, director, and playwright, with numerous credits spanning 25 years in theatre. Dowell also portrays Dr. Ephriam McDowell for the Chautauqua program. Kentucky Chautauqua is an exclusive presentation of the Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc. with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and from: Christina Lee Brown, the Brown-Forman Corporation, the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, Lindsey Wilson College, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc.
The Kentucky Humanities Council is a non-profit Kentucky corporation affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is not a state agency, but is a proud partner of Kentucky’s Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet. For information, visit www.kyhumanities.org or call (859) 257-5932.