^Memoirs of a Daiiiel Boot[e Fried Chicken
tPR^ man
or,
Below the ^Valley* of ttie ^olls
By JIM STACEY THE ABC'S OF
DANIEL, BOONE FRIED CHICKEN
A. Albert Benjamin Chandler was Chairman of the Board and Sammy Davis, Jr. was Vice Chairman. Or was it vice-vice-vice-versa?
B. One night last spring Dan (son of A.B. Chandler) shot a hole in a Daniel Boone Fried Chicken office
door.   When he's warm, Dan's not a very patient man.   The room needed ventilation; he ventilated it.
the bullet hole
C. A meeting of some DBFC officers (Happy arrived late and missed out) was held last March in Nevada at the Mustang Bridge Ranch--better known in Reno as the Valley of the
Dolls.  Silly me, at first I thought they told the cab driver to find some wild horses.
FOR YOUR PLEASURE
MUSTANG BRIDGE RANCH
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
7 MILES EAST OF RENO TURN RIGHT OFF FREEWAY (80) AND FOLLOW THE BIG RED ARROWS
a calling card
A. The president of DBFC was known to take the receptionist on long business trips.   To arrange receptions, of course.
B. Two vice-presidents were removed for conferring after after-hours. Fortunately, they were of opposite sexes; thus a scandal was avoided.
C. Many local newsmen received 100 shares of DBFC stock for their coverage of DBFC restaurant openings, etc.   For once, we can't accuse the press of being liberal.
A. In approximately two years of operation, ^approximately $2 million was lost.   It was last seen in a paper sack; the janitor may have thrown it away.
B. At last count 22 23 24 lawsuits have been brought against DBFC. At last count.
C. DBFC is now bankrupt. But so is Penn Central.   All aboard.
In December of 1968 I went to work for Daniel Boone Fried Chicken as editor of the house organ (house organ: a device used to screw any member of the household, i. e. the stockholder, who believes the newsletter he receives regularly contains the whole truth).
In March of 1969 Happy Chandler became Chairman of the Board of DBFC.   Many people worked with him. I worked around him.
As company editor and photographer, I went along on several business trips. My being along did not always make Happy happy then.   It may not make Happy happy now.
Those business trips were edifying; I learned a good deal about business, business people and Happy Chandler.
One of the most profitable trips for my own edification was the Reno-Hollywood trip we made in mid-March of 1969* Most of the company officials, including myself, flew into Reno on a Saturday afternoon, where we were to talk business with Sammy Davis, Jr. Happy and escort Rick Kestner, former UK and pro football player, arrived later, by train. Happy told us he once missed a plane that was never heard from again; therefore, and ever after, he refused to fly.   The airlines were
inconsiderate to not let him know they missed him,too. On the other hand, it's possible they did let him know how sorry they were that he missed that flight.   In that case, you can't blame the man.
Once in Reno, Happy made Sammy Davis, Jr. a Ky. Colonel and then successfully negotiated a business deal with him.   The next night, at Harrah's nightclub, we were Sammy's front-and-center guests.   Sammy introduced Happy to the crowd as the man who had been responsible for the integration of baseball.   The crowd still gave Happy a warm ovation.  I could under-staha and appreciate the" fact that Happy had wanted to see Negroes get a fair deal.   Some of his best chauffeurs had been Negroes.
After the show we partied inSammy's dressing lounge, singing Christmas songs with Carmen MacRea until the wee hours.   About 2 a.m. Happy chose to return to his hotel.   He addressed Rick Kestner and told him to come along.   Rick hesitated; he didn't want to miss the fun.   Happy snapped his fingers.   Rick went along.
The rest of the Reno-Hollywood trip was relatively dull and I shall probably never bother to discuss it in print except in a Playboy interview.
I did regret that while in Hollywood I did not get to meet Zsa Zsa Gabor, the one person Happy had promised
Dan Chandler 31
Dan Stafford
8/Number Eight