Nowadays, you can't throw a rock without hitting a McDonald's. There's probably not a town in America with 5000 or more residents that doesn't have one.
But they were much less commonplace when we grew up. You might have had to drive a hundred miles to find one.
The original McDonald's drive-ins were easy to recognize. They had those amazing Golden Arches that you could spot a mile away. And they also proudly proclaimed how many hamburgers they had foisted upon the hungry public to that point.
Maybe you remember the scene from Woody Allen's classic flick Sleeper, when he awoke in the future and saw a McDonald's that stated that it had sold 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 hamburgers.
Anyhow, McDonald's did some serious expansion under Ray Kroc, who bought the chain of four southern California restaurants from brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in 1954.
By 1977, they finally made it to nearby Rogers, Arkansas. I must have eaten a couple hundred Quarter Pounders there as a teenager.
The oldest McDonald's is in Downey, California. It opened in 1953, and I am proud to say that I have eaten there. It looks just like the illustration, which is the McDonald's Museum in Des Plaines, Illinois. And thanks to http://www.roadsidephotos.com/ for the image.
Anyhow, it was a real trip back in time to sit at the outdoor table and stare at those beautiful arches. The restaurant was locked in time, with the original sign, decorations, and everything (except the prices).
But the franchise had changed by the 70's, then an indoor eating facility. I rarely go there nowadays, having adopted a low-fat diet which in direct contrast with the McDonald's menu. But I have fond memories of when the big yellow M finally showed up in my neighborhood.
Comments (5)
The McDonald's near me while I was growing up looked just like the one in the photo. We used to eat there a lot. Funny, I would hardly dream of eating that stuff today.
Posted by Rhea | January 24, 2007 2:03 PM
Posted on January 24, 2007 14:03
Lets admit it..fast food is great fun for kids and teen-agers.....
their bodies are strong and can handle anything,
and they can eat a ton and not gain weight, so why not? Okay, I know we have more fat-bodied kids now, but, we boomers had a reasonable exposure to them. First, there just weren't as many, second,
our parents weren't too busy to actually cook us dinner most nights.
Our exposure was perfect....it was a great place for taking girls to eat for a 16-year-old with slim wallets, and plus your buddies worked there and would slip you free stuff. I liked Burger King much better. The CHarbroiled taste was more like that outdoor summer grill taste, and that mayo on the whopper, and crispy lettuce, was a damn good burger, lets face
it(and still is). Mcdonalds was more cheap with their meat.
We used to call them bunburgers(all bun).
And that 1001 island-tasting secret-sauce?
BYYUGGHHHHH!!! MCD fried
ARE great though....I used to supersize the hell out of them before the movie ruined everything...Don't mess
with my mickie D fries,
Holmes!
Posted by scott | July 21, 2007 6:42 AM
Posted on July 21, 2007 06:42
Im proud to say that its been over 20 years since the last time that i have set foot into a McDonald's. Burger King is the same way.If it was up to me they would of been 2 American Corporations that would of been out of business a long time ago. I feel sorry for todays kids. There should be more " Mom and Pop places around that serve good food thats healthy for you.
Posted by Joe | August 23, 2008 10:02 PM
Posted on August 23, 2008 22:02
I must admit, Mickey D's will probably kill me, but it is heaven for me! Ours came around 1966! I remember the plastic benches on the side of the store where you sat to eat your food. Hamburger, Cheese Burger, Filet Fish, Cokes and Shakes. That was all they had at the time. Big Macs later! For us, Mickeyds D's had the best fries ever! They are still good even though they stopped using peanut oil some years ago. I like the double cheeseburger and Filet o fish the best! I won't tell you how many of their burgers I scarfed away all my life! Of course, the original Ronald MacDonald (Willard Scott) lives just down the road from us here in Virginia! Remember his clown outfit with the box of McDs food on his head? The other burger place in town was Burger Chef! RIP Ray Kroc!
Posted by Rivers End | May 29, 2009 9:45 PM
Posted on May 29, 2009 21:45
Oh, what a subject! Portland ME 65,000 had one in the very early 60s. But we had a similar competitor, maybe just local or regional, called Howdy’s. But they were not as well managed and did not have as much quality control but they were a near duplicate of McDonald’s but all went out of business by maybe 72.
Now our next subject. Remember when McDonald’s quarter pounders actually used to taste good cause they had 100% grade A beef and were delicious. I do not know what was or is in those things now but they taste like absolute crap and don’t sit will on the stomach either. I never eat alleged beef at McDonalds. I’ll go to Burger King or Wendy’s and wish Jack in the Box or Sonic were here rather than go to McD’s. I like Mc’s filet of fishes. Always have.
And notice how the fries were to die for back in the early 70s before those damned health crazes took over. Listen, frying will kill you no matter what you fry with or in. So if it is to be frying, at least let it taste good and Mc’s fries were the best at one time. Now they are nothing. Same for all fast food joints. Bring back that animal fat to fry in!
When you think about it, all food was so much better in the 60s. Caned foods were better. Food was healthier, too. Chef Boyardee was hardier as were some Franco-American things. Ditto for Campbells soups. When we bought Sunkist oranges in the 60s, they were so juicy and sweet and if you ate enough, the acid might even eat at the sides of your mouth. I haven’t had a decent orange in many years.
Yeah, eating was a far better experience back then and one of the big reasons why I miss the 60s and early 70s so much. The quality of life was so superior to now, TV excluded (barely). We’ll never see that time again.
Posted by Scott Irv | June 1, 2009 1:32 AM
Posted on June 1, 2009 01:32