Leon Trotsky kfc. The founder of KFC is Colonel Sanders. Biography, activities and history. Serious business failures - bankruptcy

Colonel Sanders (real name Garland David) - famous founder of a chain of restaurants fast food"KFS". The signature recipe of these establishments was pieces fried chicken in batter, seasoned with a special mixture of spices and aromatic herbs. Sanders is still featured on all restaurants and branded packaging of the company. In fact, Garland was never an officer. He received the title “Colonel” from the state governor for outstanding public services. In this article we will present his short biography.

Childhood

Many customers of KFS restaurants do not even know what year Colonel Sanders was born. We'll fix that now. Garland Sanders was born in Henryville in 1890. The boy's father worked as a helper for local farmers. This brought the family a small income and allowed the mother to stay at home with the children. But the boy's father died suddenly 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. This life allowed the boy to discover his talent for cooking. Within months, Garland was masterfully preparing several of the family's most popular dishes. Of course, the boy had no time to study, and had to attend school in fits and starts.

First job

At the age of 10 he got a job on a farm. He was paid only $2 a month. A couple of years later, his mother remarried and sent the boy to the neighboring town of Greenwood. There he returned to the farm. At 14, Garland finally dropped out of school. That is, his total educational experience was only 6 classes.

Finding yourself

Until the age of 15, the future Colonel Sanders led a semi-vagrant life, changing places of residence and activities. And then Garland began working as a tram conductor. At the age of 16, the young man decided to join the army. He ended up in Cuba, which was actually a US colony at that time. Garland served there for six months and escaped, subsequently getting a job as a blacksmith's assistant. Due to low wages, the young man decided to change his profession and become a fireman. Sanders stayed in this position longer. Garland's life began to improve, and he even married his girlfriend Claudia. But after the couple had a child, Sanders was unexpectedly fired. His wife loved Garland very much and was already accustomed to his search for himself.

At one time, the future owner of KFS tried to start mental labor- He enrolled in correspondence legal courses for further work in court. After a few months, he became bored with this activity too. Until the age of 40, he tried many professions: car mechanic, tire salesman, ferry captain, loader, insurance agent, etc.

Life begins at 40

So, unnoticed by himself, Garland began to approach his fifth decade. He celebrated his 40th birthday in deep depression. All his youth was gone, and Sanders had neither a permanent job nor his own home. One day he was listening to a humorous performance by Will Rogers on the radio. And one of the comedian’s phrases made a deep impression on Garland and turned his life upside down. It sounded like this: “Life begins only at the age of forty.” We can say that from that moment the story of Colonel Sanders begins. From now on, Garland decided to work exclusively for himself.

Auto repair shop and snack bar

Small savings allowed Sanders to open his own auto repair shop. He very well chose a place next to Interstate 25, which connected Florida with the northern states. This ensured a large client flow. The future Colonel Sanders lived with his family right there, next to the auto repair shop.

Over time, Garland began offering food to road-weary clients. 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 menu consisted mainly of chicken, which Sanders did best. A year later, Garland had regular customers, and he noticed that the lion's share of income was generated by the eatery, not the auto repair shop. It was decided to give the mini-establishment a name. Above the entrance, Sanders hung a sign that read, "Kentucky Fried Chicken Special Recipe." He also came up with a technical innovation. Many of the diner's customers were often in a hurry, and half an hour to fry a chicken seemed like a long time to Garland. The solution was found quickly. Sanders attended a promotional event for newly introduced pressure cookers, which cook food under pressure. He bought himself one of the models and learned how to cook juicy chicken in just 15 minutes. A pressure cooker and spices were the secret to cooking Kentucky chickens.

Success

For the first time in his life, Garland was happy own work. Firstly, he was paid for his hobby, and secondly, no one could fire him. The fame of Kentucky chickens quickly spread. By the mid-1930s, everyone who visited Sanders's diner perceived them as the "national" dish of Kentucky. Perhaps this was Garland’s main success in introducing his product into the public consciousness. Many people did not understand how a person with a six-year education and incomplete law courses managed to achieve this.

Receiving a title

In 1935, Robie Laffoon (Governor of Kentucky) accepted Garland as a member of the honorary “Order of Kentucky Colonels” with the following wording: “For his contribution to the development of the field of roadside food.” The received rank of colonel fueled Sanders' hidden vanity. He decided to build a restaurant and motel near the auto repair shop.

New restaurant

The opening took place in 1937. Founder of KFC Colonel Sanders appeared before the guests in a white suit with a black bow tie. The look was completed with a wedge beard and gray hair.

This character was a huge success with the public. Now Garland always wore only a white suit. Clients were lining up. The number of chickens sold could be determined by how much seasoning was required for them. Sanders mixed it like cement in the back room of the cafe. It could take several bags a day.

Those years were golden for Garland. Any problems only invigorated me and forced me to move forward. In 1939, an unpleasant event occurred, which Colonel Sanders witnessed. KFC was completely burned down. But Garland rebuilt it in the most short terms. That same year, Duncan Hines (food critic) mentioned his establishment in his guidebook, calling the Colonel's chickens a special attraction in Kentucky.

Loss of business

IN pleasant troubles The years flew by unnoticed, and Sanders was already thinking about a quiet old age, but fate gave him an unpleasant surprise. At the beginning of 1950, Highway 75 was completed to bypass Federal Highway 25. The client flow dried up overnight. In 1952, Garland no longer had enough money to maintain KFS. Colonel Sanders sold it at auction to pay off his creditors. At 62, he lost everything he had: money, home and job. The only thing Garland could count on was a $105 pension.

New case

But Colonel Sanders did not want to live as a poor pensioner and came up with a new business. He began visiting nearby restaurants and cafes, inviting them to use his signature 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 had increased to 600, and Sanders received an offer to sell the business. The buyers were a group of investors who paid $2 million for KFS.

Recent years

At the age of 84, Colonel Sanders, whose biography was described above, published a book entitled “Life Diligently Licks Its Hands.” In it he fully described his life path. Having fulfilled this sacred “duty” to society, he retired, and until his death he indulged in harmless pleasures like playing golf. The only thing that upset Garland was the change in the taste of Kentucky chickens after he left KFS. In his interviews, he often stated: “They are too carried away with commerce and cook chicken haphazardly.” Sanders died in 1980 from leukemia. The colonel was 90 years old.

In the middle of winter I arrived in the city of Burlington, in Vermont. All the things that needed to be done for the business were settled and completed in three days. I started getting ready to leave home, but suddenly I thought: why not combine business with pleasure and spend a couple of days at the Cochrane ski resort, which was only half an hour away by car? So I did, went to this resort, rented skis and enjoyed skiing for two days. Each of these days, early in the morning, I went to the ski lifts, fortunately it was not far, and returned to the city to spend the night. The mountains in Vermont are quite low and good mainly for children and beginners, unlike Colorado or Utah, where my wife and I usually ride. But it is what it is, and thanks for that.

Towards the end of the second day, when it was already getting dark and the lifts were supposed to stop in a quarter of an hour, for the last trip up I sat down in a chair hooked to the cable. A gentleman of about seventy-five sat down next to him, we closed the shutter and slowly floated to the top of the well-worn snowy track. The neighbor's face seemed familiar to me and soon I remembered him - it was none other than Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an unsuccessful US presidential candidate in the last primary election. I said hello, and he was glad that he was recognized in his ski attire.

We skied down together, and despite his age, he turned out to be a pretty dashing skier, and I could barely keep up with him. When we took off our skis and I began to say goodbye, Bernie noticed that I had an accent and asked where I was from? When I answered that my roots are in Russia, he smiled: “Mine too.” To which I said that in this case we are almost fellow countrymen, and asked how long he came here to ski? He replied that he was returning to Burlington right now, where he had a house, and added that he would go to the bus station - where the shuttle goes to the city. Then I suggested that I could give him a ride - I had a rented car, I was also returning to Burlington, and it would be more fun for the two of us to drive. Bernie happily accepted my offer, I ran into the building, handed over my rental skis, and we went to the parking lot to my car.

On the way, he asked corrosively about me and my Political Views, but I, knowing that he was an official socialist (and at heart, perhaps even a communist), dodged the questions as best I could, trying not to catch him with my conservatism. I don’t enter into discussions with liberals, communists and socialists, knowing that their ideas are based not on sober logic and common sense, but on faith, kind of like religion, and in matters of faith, discussion is meaningless. We soon entered the city and a few minutes later drove up to a snow-covered house. Bernie got out of the car, unloaded his skis from the trunk, and as I was about to leave, he said to me:

Maybe you can come in and warm up? What's your hurry? I’m also alone today, my wife went to her sister’s. Let's drink coffee, chat, and then go to your hotel.

I happily agreed, parked the car outside his garage, and we went inside. Bernie explained that he bought this house a long time ago, when he was mayor of the city, and now he only stays in it when he comes to Vermont from Washington. It was a typical New England small two-story cottage, furnished with beautiful old furniture, but without ostentation. On the walls of the living room hung in frames many family photos the owners of the house with their children and grandchildren, and the smiling face of Bernie Sanders himself was everywhere, along with Democratic senators and presidents Clinton and Obama. While he was lighting the fire and busying himself with the coffee maker in the kitchen, I walked along the walls and looked at the photographs. Suddenly, one photograph caught my attention - it was a portrait of Trotsky. When Bernie came into the living room with cups and a coffee pot on a tray, I asked him, pointing to a photograph of a tribune of the Russian revolution:

I thought that you were a socialist, but it turns out you are a Trotskyist.

Yes,” the senator chuckled, “I’m a Trotskyist, but not quite in the sense that you think.” Now I’ll explain,” he continued, looking at my surprised face, “this gentleman with a beard and mustache, whom everyone knows as Leon Trotsky, is my own... father. Yes, yes, not only spiritual, but native.

I almost dropped my coffee cup:

That is, as a father? Wait, wait... If my memory serves me right, you were born in 1941...

“Yes,” answered the owner of the house, flattered that I remember, “in September, on the eighth.”

Then it doesn't add up! Trotsky was killed in August 1940...

Do you always believe what they write in newspapers and books? History is a flexible thing - one clicker will come up with some “fact”, write about it, and then everyone along the chain will rewrite it. After a while, such an idea becomes something like a historical truth. But in reality everything was completely different. This happens all the time. That is, history is not what really happened, but what people think it was like. Or they want to think for some reason. For some reason history is called science, but for me it’s just fiction. If you are interested in knowing the truth about Trotsky, sit in a chair right here by the fireplace, drink coffee and cookies, and I will tell you. Winter evenings are long in our area, and I’m in a chatty mood today (remembering Senator Sanders’ election campaign, I thought that it’s not just today).

I sat down in a chair by the coffee table that stood by the fireplace, and the senator went to the bookcase and took a small photo album from the shelf. He turned over several thick pages, found what he was looking for, and showed me an old photograph of a young black-haired woman:

This is my mother Dora Glassberg. Taken around the time she met Trotsky, that is, at the end of 1940. However, let's go in order, otherwise you will get confused.

Bernie pulled another chair closer to the fireplace, sat comfortably in it with a cup of coffee in his hand and continued:

I'm sure you know that in 1929 Stalin exiled Trotsky to Turkey, and then Leon, fearing for his life, went as far as possible - to Mexico. There he began writing the book “Stalin,” where he literally turned this tyrant inside out. By the way, this book is on my shelf. Or rather, only the first volume, since the second volume remained unfinished. In Mexico City, Trotsky first lived in the house of the communist artist Diego Rivera and his wife, the artist Frida Kahlo. It’s inconvenient to talk about my father like that, but dad was always a big mover and never let a single interesting woman pass by. He even managed to seduce Frida, although she was in a wheelchair. However, this does not apply to my story.

In short, Stalin decided to get his father in Mexico. He entrusted the work of eliminating it to the best Soviet specialist in wet affairs, Naum Eitingon, an NKVD general. But here Trotsky was incredibly lucky. The general secretly treated him with reverence, as an organizer of the Red Army and a person close to Lenin. Therefore, he decided to save Trotsky, but to do everything in such a way as to create the illusion that he had completed Stalin’s task.

This is where the fun begins. Eitingon had a female agent, Sylvia Angeloff, whom he introduced into Trotsky’s entourage in Mexico as a secretary. She was the only one the general trusted. He didn’t even tell Trotsky himself about the plan to save him, he was afraid that he would spill the beans. Therefore, everything was prepared in the deepest secrecy. Trotsky lived in a fortified house on the outskirts of the city, and it was not easy to get close to him.

“I read,” I said, “that a group of Mexican thugs led by the famous communist artist David Alfaro Siqueiros initially tried to kill Trotsky.

Yes, it was. They decided to fire at Trotsky’s bedroom from the street at night, but Leon and his wife hid behind an oak bed, so the attempt failed, and Siqueiros and his gang went to jail. After this, following a tip from Eitingon, Sylvia advised Trotsky to choose a double for himself. They found one Mexican peasant who looked vaguely like his father, grew a beard and mustache, dyed his hair, dressed him up, and when Trotsky was working in his office, the double walked around the garden behind the house, sometimes going out the gate onto the street to a nearby shop for tequila. He looked pretty similar. Even the security confused them. Sometimes they did the opposite, the father walked in the garden, and the double sat in his office at the table.

“How do you know all this,” I asked.

What do you mean, how do I know? I know first hand, from my father. But listen further. Ever since the Spanish Civil War, Eitingon had a Spanish mistress, Caridad Mercader. Her son Ramon was sent by General Eitingon to Mexico to simulate the assassination of Trotsky. Of course, Ramon had no idea that this was an imitation; he was sure that he would really kill. Sylvia brought him to her father and introduced him as a Spanish Trotskyist and her fiancé. In August 1940, Eitingon himself came to Mexico to lead the operation and gave Ramon the order to kill Stalin and Trotsky with an ax. There is an interesting psychological nuance here. Stalin had been fixated on murders with an ax since the time when his friend Kamo, at the request of Koba-Stalin, hacked to death with an ax Stalin’s hated drunken father Vissarion. In addition, Stalin saw himself as the spiritual heir of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great - they also chopped off the heads of their enemies with axes. However, finding an ax in Mexico is not at all easy. At first they decided to use a machete, but how could they sneak it into the house past the guards? Then we settled on a small ice ax for climbers - although not quite an axe, it was close.

On August 20, 1940, Sylvia informed Trotsky that another attempt was being prepared on his life and that he urgently needed to escape. He changed into a simple shirt and canvas pants, put on a sombrero hat, disguised himself as a gardener, left the house with a trash basket on his shoulders, threw the basket on a nearby street, got into Eitingon’s car, and they drove off. Meanwhile, Mercader entered Trotsky’s office, where a double was sitting at the table and leafing through a magazine, took an ice pick from his raincoat, came up from behind and hit him on the head. The guards came running to the double's screams, Ramon was captured, and the imaginary Trotsky was taken to the hospital, where he died. And Eitingon transported the real Trotsky to the United States.

Did anyone in the USA know about this? I mean officials.

What are you, no one knew! In those years, entering the United States from Mexico was as easy as shelling pears; they didn’t even ask for any documents. Eitingon said that for the sake of conspiracy, Trotsky needed to change his name and asked which one he would choose? Leon thought and replied that before, before the revolution, he had to change his names more than once. His real name was Bronstein, which comes from the German Braunstein, meaning brown sandstone. Now, as he said, “his past life, like a stone under the blow of a hammer, crumbled into sand,” so let his new surname be something like “Sands,” that is, Sanders in English.

As far as I understand, Stalin and everyone around him really believed that Trotsky was killed. That's what they still write everywhere...

Of course, Sanders said, although after Stalin’s death the Soviet leadership somehow learned the truth. Khrushchev, a loyal Stalinist, became terribly angry and ordered Eitingon to be arrested and put in prison. There he died in prison.

First, Eitingon brought him to Brooklyn, New York, and settled him with my future mother. She was a communist and happily hid another communist, Leon Sanders, in her house for a while, although at the time she had no idea that it was Trotsky. He lived with her for four months, but then he decided that he needed to hide away, somewhere in the outback. Still, New York is a bad place to hide. My mother by that time was pregnant with me from him and Leon knew about it. At that time he was already 60 years old, however, as a man he was no different!

At the beginning of 1941, Sanders moved to the state of Kentucky, to the city of Louisville, where he settled. The police said he had lost his driver's license and was issued a new one. America was then a patriarchal country, and everyone was taken at their word. In memory of the fact that he had led the civil war in Russia twenty years before, Sanders-Trotsky even decided to take military rank. But which one? Not a general - this would attract attention to him and could raise unwanted questions. Therefore, he settled on the modest rank of “Colonel” and from then on introduced himself to everyone as “Colonel Sanders”, and no one delicately asked where he served and in what branches of the military.

What was he doing there in Kentucky? What did you live on? - I asked.

He decided that he had to put an end to past affairs - no articles, no books, complete secrecy, otherwise Stalin would find out the truth and would definitely get to him. He had no money, and in order to earn a living, he first got a job in some restaurant washing dishes. Soon he became a cook there. One day he remembered how many years ago his mother wonderfully cooked fried chicken according to her own method, and he decided to try that old recipe that he remembered from childhood. Immediately this dish became very popular. A line of people came into the restaurant. After some time, my father quit and opened his own restaurant, which he called “Kentucky Fried Chicken.” Fried Chicken or KFC). The business was successfully promoted, and within a year he was able to open several more similar restaurants in Louisville and other cities. Organization and leadership were his passion, and restaurant business gave him the opportunity to prove himself as a leader again. He was always a successful leader - in revolution, in war, and in business. KFC expanded throughout America and he became quite wealthy. To advertise the company, my father decided to use his own face, reasonably believing that it would not occur to anyone that Trotsky and Colonel Sanders were the same person. Moreover, everyone considered Trotsky dead.

“Now I remember, I read about it somewhere,” I said.

The truth came out after his death, Sanders said. - They wrote about it, but there was a lot of speculation and nonsense. If you go on the Internet, you will find a lot of half-truths there.

Well, what about you? Did he somehow maintain contact with your mother and help you?

Oh yes,” the senator replied, “he called her often and when he began to earn money, he sent money until she got married and her husband adopted me.” But I kept my surname from my father. He paid for my education at the university. I remember when I was about five or seven, my father came to Brooklyn, we went to Coney Island, where he took me on a carousel. In subsequent years, he often came to New York, and when I grew up, I began to visit him in Louisville. My father initially hoped to introduce me to chicken business, wanted to transfer the entire company to me, but I was only interested in politics - apparently, the genes were showing themselves. Then he began to give me his old articles and books to read, which were in English. We often talked about the working class, the bourgeoisie and the theory of permanent revolution. I am proud that I was not only his son, but also his student.

An interesting detail is that fifty years ago, that is, at the end of 1967, a young man appeared on the threshold of his house and introduced himself in Russian as the second secretary of the Soviet embassy in Washington. He said that the Kremlin knows the truth about his fate and condemns Stalin's attempts to kill him. He added that they highly value Trotsky’s enormous contribution to the Russian revolution and civil war, but for political reasons they do not want to talk about it publicly. The diplomat said that the half-century anniversary of the creation of the Red Army was approaching and, on behalf of the government, invited Colonel Sanders to come to Moscow for the celebration. My father was already 88 years old at that time, and he was rather weak, but he agreed, reasonably believing that times had changed and now he had nothing to fear. That evening he called me and invited me to go with him to Soviet Russia. I was very interested in this, and I happily agreed.

We arrived in Moscow in February, we were received in complete secrecy, but with great honors. We checked into the Moscow Hotel, not far from Red Square. They took me to the Mausoleum to see Lenin, took a tour of the city, but my father learned little, because so many years had passed since his departure! Then there was a military parade on Red Square, we sat on the guest stand at the Mausoleum. With great triumph in the Kremlin, Brezhnev presented his father with the Order of Lenin for his services in organizing the Red Army. Their entire government attended a private banquet in his honor. There were toasts and a lot of amazing food. I have never eaten anything so delicious before or since. There I first heard my father speak Russian, and was completely amazed by it. No correspondents were allowed there, but I had a camera with me and was able to take a couple of pictures. Look at this.

Sanders opened the album again and found a photo of his father with Brezhnev. With his permission, I copied this photo. Bernie then told me that Trotsky-Sanders lived long life and died at the age of 94.

Colonel Sanders (KFC founder, Garland David Sanders) - founder of the large famous fast food chain KFC (Kentucky Fired Chicken, literal translation With English language- "Kentucky Fried Chicken") The most recognizable and common signature dish of the KFC chain is breaded fried chicken with the addition of a variety of aromatic spices and herbs.

The portrait of the founder of the famous fast food chain KFC is traditionally installed in each establishment as a stylized outline of the company. The success story of Colonel Sanders is endowed with amazing events, which can only happen to a strong-willed person. This entrepreneur is a true hardworker and the architect of his own happiness. Colonel Sanders, his story is an example of how in difficult life situations Don't give up. His life credo- is to run towards your goals and dreams with an unprincipled zeal for success.

Colonel Sanders: biography

Garland David Sanders was born on September 9, 1890 in Henryville, Indiana. (United States of America). His father, Wilbur David Sanders, was the heir to a wealthy Presbyterian family, and his mother was Margaret Ann Sanders. maiden name Dunleavy). Unfortunately, young Garland lost his father when he was six years old. The mother worked day and night to somehow feed the family. In view of this, the boy always remained at home alone and was responsible for preparing food. Garland quickly became addicted to cooking; it was difficult to convince him that the kitchen was the domain of women's concerns. Who knew that culinary skills would predetermine future fate young man, and he will become a big millionaire. In his studies, Sanders Jr. did not shine at all with his intelligence - the guy constantly skipped classes and refused to do homework. Soon, in 1902, he was expelled from school without being allowed to finish the seventh grade. Garland was not at all upset about this, because he dreamed of living an adult life and earning money. The twelve-year-old boy managed to work a lot - he washed cars, worked as a loader at the local market, and also sold home-made pies to passers-by in local neighborhoods.

Young Garland runs away from home

A few years after the death of her husband, Margaret Ann Sanders (mother) starts new novel with a man and soon marries him. Family changes for Sanders Jr. did not turn out to be in the best possible way- his stepfather constantly beat and humiliated him. Without thinking twice, the guy runs away from home and moves to the city of New Alban, which is located in the same state (Indiana). His uncle lived here, who received Garland with warmth.

Early onset of adulthood - 15-year-old future millionaire enlists in the US Army using fake documents

In 1906, difficult military-political events unfolded on the island of the same name and the state of Cuba. Cubans protested against the occupation by American troops. The Ministry of the United States of America decided to organize a campaign for voluntary entry into the ranks of the national army in order to prevent popular unrest in the controlled state. At this time, Sanders decides that he needs to become a military man by any means, but the guy only recently turned fifteen years old. Thinking about how to deceive everyone and start serving his homeland, Garland, with simple manipulations, forges his own documents, where he indicates his majority. Oddly enough, the clever Sanders’s scam was successful - the guy became a soldier in the national army of the United States of America. He was assigned to the military logistics division. Initially, the guy was supposed to monitor logistics support, as well as lead warehouse accounting in the supply of ammunition. However, no one ever entrusted him with this task. As a result, they found a dubious alternative for him: due to his short stature and frail muscles, he was assigned to an army stable to remove manure. This is stated in his autobiography as follows: “All I did in my service was shovel horse manure with my bare hands and monitor the hygiene of these long-legged animals.”

During his service, Garland contracted some kind of climate disease, thanks to which he lost 20 kilograms. Having lost literally a third of his weight, Sanders spent some time in a military hospital, but quickly recovered. As a result, Garland finished his service with honors. Demobilized Sanders took a ferry by sea to the port of New Orleans. Having reached the first railway fork, I sat down in freight train, who was traveling along the Mississippi River. Ultimately, the guy reached the city of St. Louis (Missouri).

An alternative version of Sanders' biography after the army

There is another version of events after demobilization: some sources indicate that Colonel Sanders, upon arriving on the continent, traveled to Alabama, where he immediately found work as an assistant in a blacksmith shop. Here he worked in many ways in the future - he washed rail rolling stock at a railway station, worked as an intercity tram conductor, and was also a locomotive fireman, a loader at a furniture factory, an insurance agent, a mechanic in a car repair shop, a ferry captain, a manager of a tire repair company and even an intern. courses in jurisprudence in the local court. Colonel Sanders noted that none of his above-mentioned jobs brought him pleasure. Having experienced first-hand the charm of many professions, he realized that he needed to do what he loved - develop the restaurant business.

Studying at university can always be combined with work

A few years later, Colonel Sanders moved to live in Tennessee. Here he got a job as an ordinary worker in the department fire safety and entered LaSalle University for correspondence department in the city of Chicago. Garland skillfully combined study and work. To his great surprise, he received high grades and also successfully completed all exams. When he worked in the fire department, he had a conflict with one of the employees - a fight broke out, as a result of which Sanders was fired from his position. Then he decides to move to the city of Arkansas and get a new job (here he worked for a while in a mine, and then got a job on a farm). Despite this, Sanders successfully completed his studies at the university.

Happy moments of life: meeting his future wife Claudia and first business

Colonel Sanders (photo below) always mentioned that in his difficult life he constantly earned his living in an unloved profession.

And this is true, because his profession was not the best. However, he received his greatest happiness when he worked as a fireman for the thermal apparatus of a steam locomotive, because at that time he met his love - his future wife Claudia. Being, roughly speaking, a nobody, he dared to propose to her, to which he heard an immediate “yes.” His young wife inspired him with love and care every day, so Sanders always considered himself happy man. After several years of working on a steam locomotive, Garland got a job as a mechanic in an auto repair shop. And this profession also became no less fateful than the previous one.

He was no longer a young boy. Forty-year-old Sanders was filled with ambition and the desire to achieve more in order to live happily with his wife. A few years later, he opens his own business - an auto repair shop on the twenty-fifth highway, where many long-haul and passenger cars from the northern states of the United States often rush by. This business began to enjoy success because the prudent Garland established his auto repair shop in a favorable (from a marketing point of view) place where there is constant demand. A lot of money began to appear in the Sanders family. It is worth noting that the colonel turned out to be a very enterprising person - he proved himself not only as a successful businessman, but also as a talented forecaster. Garland (Colonel Sanders) concluded that his visitors were hungry tourists or truckers coming from the far north of the country. Based on this, he decides to open a small dining room here, where at first he prepared various dishes himself. Already at that time future millionaire developed his own unique recipe for breaded fried chicken. Word began to spread around the area that they were preparing incredible chicken on Route 25.

Title "Kentucky Colonel Sanders"

Colonel Sanders' recipes were kept secret, and the number of people in his establishment only increased. Two well-established businesses, a canteen and an auto repair shop, brought incredible income to his family. Life began to gradually improve. In 1935, Governor state of kentucky honored Garland with the title "Kentucky Colonel Sanders" for making his signature dish a state treasure. Everyone was delighted with the new " national dish" in Kentucky.

In the early 50s, Colonel Sanders developed his own image - he grew an elegant beard and neat mustache, creating the image of an aristocratic pedant professor. Also his calling card was a white tuxedo. All this was complemented by a neat ribbon tie. In this guise he constantly appeared in public. Rumor has it that Sanders had a whole set of identical white suits, there were about 50 of them - for all seasons. Garland did not purchase clothing from shopping centers and clothing stores, and loved to order suits from the studio.

Serious business failures - bankruptcy

Sanders' business was a success for just over fifteen years, constantly improving his recipes and surprising his customers. delicious food. At the age of 62, Colonel Sanders suffered a setback when years of construction on another newer and larger highway ended a few kilometers away. The businessman lost 90 percent of potential buyers. At this time, Garland was very depressed, because such a fate in retirement age he couldn't foresee. However, the future millionaire and founder of KFS, Colonel Sanders, did not give up and continued to fight the pitfalls of fate.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is back to the rescue.

While he was thinking about how to continue to make a living, Garland came up with the idea that his unique fried chicken recipe could be presented to several large restaurants and charged for it. monetary reward or a contract that will provide a percentage of the proceeds for the sale of his signature dish. Colonel Sanders gathered his thoughts, filled his suitcase with the necessary things and began to walk around the large restaurants of the state, declaring only one phrase: “I cook a better fried chicken dish than you.” Such a daring and arrogant statement was received with contempt - Garland was refused everywhere, the businessman was sent away with a lot of unpleasant words addressed to him.

The “Kentucky Colonel” did not become upset, but only continued to distribute offers to all catering establishments. He was rejected a little more than a thousand times. We had to wait quite some time to find our first customer. Gradually, his signature dish began to spread throughout the country, and potential businessmen themselves turned to the colonel with a request for an agreement. At first, the terms of the contract stated that for each portion sold, Colonel Sanders would receive 5 cents (later the interest rate only increased). The monopoly of “breaded wings” was already bringing in fabulous money by the early 60s. Hundreds of restaurants called KFC began to open across all states of America. Colonel Sanders could not believe for a long time that he managed to surpass his goals and himself, especially at such an age! From now on, he felt incredibly happy because he had found his calling. His talent and determination made the public believe in success.

Sale of KFC

As Colonel Sanders (photo below) celebrated his 70th birthday, the idea occurred to him that it was time to retire. Soon the successful businessman announces the sale of the KFC company. This news was immediately picked up by investors. As a result, Garland sells his brainchild for two million dollars. In addition, he will receive $250 thousand a year as a brand ambassador (a stylized portrait of Colonel Sanders). Now his activity is that he needs to “shine his face” everywhere and represent the popular KFC brand. A successful retired millionaire must communicate with the press and be the leader of the company from a marketing standpoint. By rights, Sanders was no longer the owner of a fast food chain, but he no longer needed this at all.

The end of Colonel Sanders' story

On December 16, 1980, 90-year-old Garland David Sanders died. He lived a difficult life, but happy life. At retirement age, he achieved incredible heights in business, which allowed him to live his last years in complete prosperity. The Colonel loved to travel, play golf, and visit his favorite restaurant called Claudia Sander’s Dinner House, which he gave to his beloved wife. That was Colonel Sanders. History demonstrates it beautiful life, which is overflowing with happy moments and long-awaited joy.

A few months before his death he said the following words: “I always wanted to earn a lot of money, but I never saw the global sense in it. Why be rich in a cemetery? There you will no longer be able to manage your money. Many people are not at all aware that most of I gave the money I earned to donate to orphans, and also sponsored many churches.” These quotes from Colonel Sanders reveal the full meaning of his warm and kind soul. This man left behind a huge mark and will be remembered for a very long time. Garland David Sanders's grave is in Louisville.

Colonel Sanders - Trotsky

Have you noticed the similarity between these two people? It's obvious! The names Sanders and Trotsky are mentioned quite often, creating many “memes” and “demotivators.”

There is a story about this story: “Not many people know that in 1913, members of the American Socialist Party gave Leon Trotsky US passport in the name of Garland Sanders. This was originally done symbolically, as a joke about the similarity of the two people. However, in 1935 Lev Davydovich used this document when he fled from Norway to the USA (due to diplomatic pressure from the USSR). The American authorities made an exceptional compromise for the Bolshevik and allowed him to enter the country with only one condition - not to engage in political activities in the United States. The condition was met, but Trotsky in the 60s managed to develop an entire chain of restaurants called K for Communist, which is identical in acronym to the popular fast food KFC.” Well, the public’s imagination is fine...

Let's expose! Trotsky founded KFC? September 6th, 2016

Screenshot from GooglePlus

That's the essence of this story...

According to the distributors of this picture on social networks, in 1913, American comrades from the US Socialist Party gave a gift to Leon Trotsky - they gave him an American passport in the name of Harland Sanders. Then Lenin’s comrade-in-arms had no idea how much this document would be useful to him more than twenty years later. With his help, in 1935 he would escape from Norway, which was increasingly succumbing to diplomatic pressure from the USSR, and would end up on the other side of the Atlantic - in the USA.

Entry into the United States was preceded by a long conversation with the FBI officers who detained Trotsky in the Boston port. The United States was not delighted with the desire of the famous Bolshevik to find refuge on American soil - firstly, this would worsen the already poor relations with the Soviet Union, and secondly White House in principle, he did not favor socialists and their leaders. On the other hand, Trotsky, as an implacable opponent of Stalin, could prove useful.

As a result, an almost gentleman's agreement was concluded between the American government and the disgraced Bolshevik. Trotsky was allowed to live in the USA, and in exchange, he refused any kind of political activity throughout all states. Violation would mean immediate deportation. Of course, both sides considered it reasonable to hide as much as possible the very fact that Lev Davidovich now lives in the “land of the free.” To divert attention, Trotsky obtained a residence permit in Mexico and after a while began to regularly spend vacations there - in his small house in Coyoacan.

In the USA, Trotsky opened a small restaurant - legendary October Revolution they desperately needed money, and catering was an easy way to stay afloat. Actually, behind the proud word “restaurant” was a small eatery in Kentucky, bought for a pittance from a bankrupt owner. At first, Trotsky prepared it himself - there was no money to hire staff.

It must be said that Lev Davidovich knew how to cook only one dish - chicken - but he did it well. Even during his emigration, Lenin asked his comrade-in-arms to help with lunch or dinner. “Nadenka is a golden woman, but she doesn’t know how to cook perfectly!” Vladimir Ilyich explained sadly. After several not entirely successful experiments, Trotsky developed a suitable recipe, which delighted Lenin every time. “It turned out delicious, my dear!”, the Bolshevik leader invariably praised him.

Within a few months, Trotsky realized that the “restaurant” was barely profitable. Suddenly, he came up with an unusual idea - what if we applied Marxist-Leninist theory to business, supplementing it with his own doctrine of “permanent revolution”? The US authorities banned Trotsky from engaging in politics, but they said nothing about business. Having sketched out a business plan, Lev Davidovich got down to business.

Trotsky decided to use the experience of the development of the Communist Party. According to his plan, a branch of his restaurant would operate in every city in the United States, and this network would continuously expand, and would later appear in other countries. In addition, he came up with the idea of ​​​​patenting his recipe and selling the right to use it - by analogy with the principle of work of the International, which included a variety of left-wing parties united under a common sign.

To maintain labor discipline, Trotsky actively used methods used in the Soviet Union. All employees wore the same uniform, “party meetings” were held regularly, a portrait of the best employee of the month was hung on the wall of honor - and he was given a personalized certificate. Socialist-inspired posters hung in restaurant kitchens. Trotsky especially loved this one: “The roasting must be permanent, like a revolution!”

Nostalgic for its former greatness, Lev Davidovich could not resist and made his portrait the logo of the network, drawing an unambiguous parallel with the countless images of Lenin in the USSR. The signature color of the restaurants has, of course, become red. Like any Bolshevik, Trotsky loved acronyms, so he wittily named his empire KFC - K for Communist (“K” means “Communist”).

No one in the United States, of course, knew the underbelly of KFC - to everyone around it it was just a chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken eateries, run by the eccentric but good-natured Colonel Sanders ( honorary title Trotsky received from the hands of the state governor, a secret member of the 4th International, who wanted to help his idol). Several times a year, Trotsky traveled to Mexico, where he wrote political appeals, criticized Stalin and worked on his memoirs. Only family members knew about his double life.

Trotsky initially mistook the unsuccessful assassination attempt in the spring of 1940 as an attempt by the owner of the Yammy Burgers chain to settle scores for forced bankruptcy, but his Mexican comrades later explained that NKVD agents were hunting for him. Using his capital, as well as connections in the mafia (not a single large business in the United States could do without this - and Trotsky’s network captured state after state), the old Bolshevik was able to contact Ramon Mercader, a Mexican employee of the Soviet secret services. For fifty thousand dollars - a huge sum at that time - Mercader agreed to stage the murder of Trotsky.

Everything turned out well. On August 21, the newspapers wrote how Lenin’s comrade-in-arms had his head broken with an ice pick. Trotsky sighed with relief - his Bolshevik alter ego had died, leaving only the smiling Colonel Sanders. And Mercader, who has become significantly richer, for “ successful completion» assignment will receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
From now on, Trotsky-Sanders concentrates only on his empire of fried legs and wings. New restaurants opened every month, and more and more people wanted to become part of the franchise by purchasing the right to produce fried chicken according to a secret recipe.

It is stated that in the photo at the beginning of the post, Trotsky is celebrating his seventieth birthday in the central office in Kentucky, surrounded by his grandchildren and granddaughters playing “The Internationale” to their grandfather.

Lev Davidovich kept his promise and never participated in American politics - he never even went to the polls. At the same time, he sincerely sympathized with the black population of the United States suffering from discrimination, so he regularly organized charitable distribution of fried chicken in black neighborhoods and allocated money to various African-American foundations. That is why even now KFC is the most popular fast food among blacks. During Khrushchev’s famous visit to the USA, Trotsky sent him an invitation to visit “the most advanced restaurant in the USA,” but Nikita Sergeevich did not show interest, which greatly hurt the pride of “Colonel Sanders.”

In 1964, Trotsky decided to retire. He was 85 and felt tired of leading. All his life he managed something: revolutionaries, divisions, industry, restaurants. In his declining years he wanted peace. The former Bolshevik leader turned out to be an excellent businessman - he earned several hundred million dollars over a quarter of a century and almost doubled this amount by selling his legendary company. He died in 1980, a month after his 102nd birthday, surrounded by countless children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Of course, you already realized that this is all either viral advertising, or a well-made story like or, for example, about what, which was widely distributed on social networks.

But what really? But in fact, this is a very thick fake, which appeared due to the similarity of the photograph of the founder of KFC and Trotsky.

1. In 1930, there was no KFC yet. Garland Sanders took over the gas station and installed only a dining table in it.
2. KFC opened in 1952. Trotsky had been dead for 12 years.
3. KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

So there aren't even any coincidences.

Harland David Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders (September 9, 1890 - December 16, 1980), was the founder of the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). ), the signature recipe of which is pieces of fried chicken in batter, seasoned with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. His stylized portrait is traditionally depicted on all restaurants of his network and on branded packaging.

Sanders was born into a Presbyterian family in Henryville, Indiana. His father, Wilbur David Sanders, died when Garland was 6 years old and, since his mother worked, the boy was responsible for preparing food in the house. He dropped out of school in seventh grade. When his mother remarried, he left home because his stepfather beat him. Sanders falsified his birth date and volunteered for the US Army at age 16. He served his entire sentence and ended his service in Cuba. During their early years Sanders had to work in many places: on a steamship, as an insurance agent, as a fireman on railway, farmer. He had a son (died in early age) and two daughters Margaret and Mildred. At the age of 40, Sanders began preparing chicken dishes, as well as other dishes, for those who stopped at his gas station in Corbin, Kentucky. At that time, he did not have his own restaurant, so his clients were mainly residents of nearby neighborhoods. However, his local popularity grew, and Sanders soon moved into a 142-bed motel and restaurant that later became the Garland Sanders Cafe and Museum. Over the next nine years, he developed and perfected his "secret recipe" for pressure-frying chicken, which cooks chicken faster than in a frying pan. In 1935, Sanders received the honorary title "Colonel of Kentucky" from Governor Ruby LaFon, and in 1950 for a second time from Governor Lawrence Weatherbee.

As his career developed, Sanders became active social life, joined the Rotary club. He was a Freemason, and managed to reach the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. He was a member of the Shriners Para-Masonic Charitable Organization.

Around 1950, Sanders began to create his own distinct image, growing his signature mustache and goatee and wearing an aristocratic white suit with a ribbon tie. He wore nothing else in public for the last 20 years of his life, alternating between a warm wool suit in winter and a light cotton suit in summer.

When Sanders turned 65, his restaurant began to lose money due to the opening of the new Interstate 75, which reduced the number of customers. He withdrew money from his Social Security fund and began pitching potential franchisees. This approach was successful and less than 10 years later (in 1964), Sanders sold KFC Corporation for $2 million to a company of Kentucky businessmen headed by John Brown. The deal did not include Canadian restaurants. In 1965, Sanders moved to Mosisoge, Ontario to control his Canadian franchises and continued to collect new ones.


Sanders' grave in Louisville

In 1973, he sued the Hublein Corporation (KFC's parent company) for misusing his image to promote products he did not design. In 1979, Hublein unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel when he publicly called their gravy "sludge that tastes like wallpaper paste."

Sanders died in Louisville, Kentucky, of pneumonia on December 16, 1980, at the age of 90. He was suffering from an acute form of leukemia, which had been diagnosed earlier in June of that year. Sanders was buried in his famous white suit with a thin black tie.

That's how things are.

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