I hate it when I do this. I took the time and trouble to scan a photo from an old yearbook because I happened to find the image remotely interesting. But then, when I named the file, I forgot to identify just what yearbook — or what school — the photo came from. Heck, I didn't even DATE it.
So, I turn to my readers. Here you have the sophomore class officers of a local high school: Doug Phillips, president; Mark Weiss, vice-president; Eddie Scrimger, treasurer; Bettye Gay, secretary; and Welch Agnew, reporter.
Betty is (apparently) a cheerleader, wearing a sweater embroidered with a large "W" so that narrows it down to a few schools here: White Station, Whitehaven, Westwood, Westside, and West Memphis.
But if anybody recognizes, or remembers, any of these kids, would you let me know?
I have to admit that I like this shot mainly for the old-timey McDonald's sign. Back then, they tried to keep track of their success, by saying "Over 100 Million Sold" but nowadays they don't even bother counting. I think they started saying "Billions and Billions" but then gave up. Does anybody really eat at McDonald's because billions of other people have dined there as well?
But what's intriguing about this particular sign are the other details provided on it. First of all, this particular location is a "licensee" of McDonald's, and it's also a member, if that's the right word, of their "Speedee Service System."
What in the world?
Look, I realize you don't turn to "Ask Vance" for a history of McDonald's. But lots of people think that Ray Kroc founded the company, and that's not quite true. He's the one who turned it into an international chain, selling those "billions and billions" of hamburgers.
Two brothers, Maurice and Richard McDonald, opened a little hamburger stand in California. Some sources say the first one was in San Bernardino; others say otherwise. That's how it is with historians. Anyway, they originally operated like all the other drive-ins around America, using carhops to bring food and drink to customers waiting in their cars.
Then they had a better idea. They got rid of the carhops, streamlined their menu to just a few basic items (hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, and soft drinks), and called it their Speedee Service System. They began selling franchises sometime around 1948, and this location in Memphis was obviously one of them.
(If this is indeed the first McDonald's in Memphis, then that means the photo was taken at the location on Summer near Berclair. That still doesn't tell me what the "W" stands for on the cheerleader's sweater, but White Station High School is obviously closer to Summer than any of the other schools.)
Anyway, Ray Kroc was selling milkshake machines to restaurants up and down the West Coast, when he came across the McDonald operation, recognized the genius of it, and bought a franchise for himself in 1955. When that one proved successful, others soon followed, and as he expanded his operation, he finally bought the whole corporation from the McDonald Brothers in 1961, paying them $2.7 million for the rights to the system and the name.
Something tells me the company may be worth a bit more than that now.
And yes, the Kroc Center at the Fairgrounds? Yep, that's the same Kroc family. They've done a lot of good things around the country.
But now that I've gotten off track here, back to my original question. For "Ask Vance" I'm asking YOU: what school did these students attend?
Here's another clue: Aren't those kids leaning against the tail fins of a 1957 Chevy?
Gosh, now I've got a hankering for a cheeseburger and a vanilla milkshake. Can't imagine why ...
