Kentucky Day Trippin’ – By Bill Hall

KENTUCKYDay trippin'

By Indian Rider Bill

Afew weekends ago we, Team Thunder Roads® TN/KY, made our first appearance in Kentucky. As was mentioned earlier, our strategy was simple; be where riders are. But where to start? Not only with the actual where, that was the easier part, yet how to roll the entire effort into something doable and readable with a storyline that invites our readers, you, to be part of our effort. As you can imagine, we met people, shook lots of hands, identified distribution points, dropped magazines and made new friends. And I still struggled with what I should write about Kentucky. Well, my friends, that answer came in the last two hours of the journey. So, I’ll start at the end. What trip to Kentucky would be worth its mettle if it didn’t have a picture, a story about Kentucky Fried Chicken, right? Well, not just any KFC storefront would do. We had to stop in Corbin, Kentucky. The first ever storefront. The one where it all began. And that’s exactly what we did. After more than a dozen stops at leather shops, restaurants, motorcycle dealerships, pubs, visitor centers and even a Mayor’s office, we rolled into the parking lot of the Corbin store to take a few photos. At this point in our journey, we now had our resident photographer with us, as we just finished up a photo shoot. So, there we were, snapping photos of the store at its obligatory tourist photo-op display when suddenly, a car pulls in, stops next to us and its driver asks “Hey, what are you all doing”? And it wasn’t framed as a question, but more so sounding much like that of a professional Showman. We turned to acknowledge the driver and it’s none other than The Colonel!! Yep, Colonel Sanders, aka Johnny Miller. Johnny, a professional Colonel Sanders impersonator just happened to be passing by as he was heading back to his home from an American Legion military service for one of its members. The Colonel, Johnny, told us that the museum was closed, but if we had time and wanted to see one of the largest private collections of Kentucky Fried Chicken memorabilia in the country, it was at his house just 5 minutes away. Talk about a no brainer! We piled in our cars and off we went following Johnny. Who knew The Colonel drove a Ford C-Max Hybrid? In a few short minutes we arrived at The Colonel’s humble abode and being the gentleman that he is, he apologized for not straightening things up as he didn’t expect to pick up travelers and invite them in.

His living room was more like an inner sanctum of everything KFC. Just about every inch of wall space and shelves were tastefully adorned with chicken buckets and smaller boxes from the 1950’s, an original pressure cooker (one used in determining how many minutes and seconds to perfectly cook chicken-8 minutes and thirty seconds to be exact-no peeking), advertising decals and framed tray liners. On his dining table were plastic food menus and visual meals representing what you could expect, all laid out in perfect portions - chicken, cole slaw, fries, a soft drink. One display even had a tin ashtray for your after-dinner smoke. All this and we hadn’t gotten ten feet inside! The kitchen was full of antique decanters, ceramic holders and on its refrigerator clung magnets along with an assortment of nametags. My favorite was one that read-Colonel Johnny MillerChicken Master. I mean really, it’s literally one of a kind, just like Johnny. As Johnny took us through his home, it was obvious how proud he is to have such a collection and that he’s one of very few impersonators to carry on such an incredible lineage of living historians to perpetuate the iconic brand, all the while paying homage to its humble beginnings. A beginning that started with one thousand and eight No’s, and one yes. As we moved down the hallway, he paused at a few select framed black and white photos, some were originals taken back in the 50’s, and others were reproductions. One picture was of Colonel Harlen Sanders in a black suit coat. His black suit coat was what he wore during the early days of his business venture, as he didn’t wear a white one until many years later. Rounding the corner into Johnny’s office, a couple of pictures caught my eye. Johnny was on a stage, in a Star Trek uniform standing next to a Klingon! “Johnny, are you a Trekky?” He cast a shy smile and went on to tell us of his opportunity to be on stage in a running play production portraying a Star Trek officer. Off on a smaller wall there were photos that seemed out of place among all the KFC treasures. They were radar stations, and above one photo was a picture of Johnny in an Air Force uniform. Johnny did a four-year stint in the Air Force as a radarman operating the predecessor to the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). His pride of service to this nation was another example of his true American roots. Sadly, we knew our time had to be cut short and we profusely thanked Johnny for his time inviting us into his world, albeit as surreal as you can imagine. A few quick photos of our team with him and we were on our way. To sum it up, our first trip to Kentucky was a huge success. Our team connected with community business leaders who were excited to tell us of the great motorcycle routes in Southeastern KY and their goal to make riders welcome as the region transforms the forgotten coal communities into viable economic giants using motorsports tourism. We managed to pull off a cover photo shoot, dropped hundreds of magazines where riders are and met a true Kentucky gentleman. So, if you or your organization are ever in need of a true aficionado of everything Kentucky Fried Chicken, be sure to contact our new friend, Colonel Johny Miller. Colsandersimpersonator.com Until next visit, Your Thunder Roads® TN/KY Team