Original KFC

The first Kentucky Fried Chicken in Corbin, KY. Photo by Michael Williamson/The Washington Post

A detour through KY.--We were in the state where it all started and so it only made sense to stop at the very first Kentucky Fried Chicken. We went in part because the company has been in the news for trying to change its image to navigate the recession, and, well, because who wouldn’t want to see where the 11 herbs and spices first came together.

The place is both museum and restaurant, a place where "original” is more than just a chicken option. Paper plates dating to the 1960s sat behind glass, as did a bobble head Colonel Sanders doll from 1967, a tin container once holding “Kentucky Kandies” and a clock with a third hand that let chefs in the 1950s know exactly when the chicken was ready. A plaque near the "original" kitchen said the walls and floors were painted white so that at a glance Harland Sanders could tell whether they were clean.

But if history was preserved inside, outside one could see a company trying to survive present day pressures. On the side of the building, the company's new "(UN)fried" option was advertised, touting its grilled chicken. "UNthink what you thought of KFC," the new ad campaign encourages.