Kemmons Wilson ~ Holiday Inn

Charles Kemmons Wilson (January 5, 1913 – February 12, 2003) was the founder of the Holiday Inn chain of hotels.

Personal Life

He was born in Osceola, Arkansas, the only child of Kemmons and Ruby "Doll" Wilson. His father was an insurance salesman who died when Kemmons was nine months old. Shortly thereafter, his mother, Doll, moved the two to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was raised solely by her.

In college Wilson was a member of Chi Psi Fraternity

Wilson was married to Dorothy Lee.

They had five children: Spence, Robert, Kemmons Jr, Betty, and Carole.

Wilson died in Memphis aged 90 and is interred there in Forest Hill .

Career

Wilson initially came up with the idea after a family road trip to Washington, D.C., during which he was disappointed by the quality and consistency provided by the roadside motels of that era. The name Holiday Inn was given to the original hotel by his architect Eddie Bluestein as a joke, in reference to the Bing Crosby movie.

The first Holiday Inn opened on Summer Avenue in Memphis, the main highway to Nashville, in 1952. The motel was demolished in the early 1990's, but there is a plaque commemorating the site.


The First Holiday Inn

He opened the first Holiday Inn motel in Memphis in 1952, and quickly added others to create an entire hotel chain. Holiday Inn went international in 1960.

The first four roofs put on the Holiday Inn were by James Edwin Murphy.

Wilson partnered with Wallace E. Johnson to build additional motels on the byroads entering Memphis. Holiday Inn's corporate headquarters was in a converted plumbing shed owned by Johnson in 1953, when the company built its first four hotels, one covering each approach to Memphis. On the occasion of Johnson's death, Wilson was quoted as saying, "The greatest man I ever knew died today. He was the greatest partner a man could ever have." Together they started what Wilson would shepherd into Holiday Corp., one of the world's largest hotel groups.

In 1957, Wilson franchised the chain as Holiday Inn of America and it grew dramatically, following Wilson's original tenet that the properties should be standardized, clean, predictable, family-friendly and readily accessible to road travellers.

By 1958, there were 50 locations across the country, 100 by 1959, 500 by 1964, and the 1000th Holiday Inn opened in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968. The chain dominated the motel market, leveraged its innovative Holidex reservation system, put considerable financial pressure on traditional hotels and set the standard for its competitors, like Ramada Inns, Quality Inn, Howard Johnson's, and Best Western.

By June 1972, when Wilson was featured on the cover of Time magazine, there were over 1,400 Holiday Inn hotels worldwide. Innovations like the company's Holidome indoor pools turned many hotels into roadside resorts.

Great Sign


The Great Sign

The "Great Sign" is the roadside sign used by Holiday Inn during their original era of expansion in the 1950s-1970s. It was introduced by Kemmons Wilson when he opened his first motel on August 1, 1952. The signs were extremely large and eye-catching, but were expensive to construct and operate. The sign, including the script logo, was originally designed by Memphis, TN artist, James A. Anderson, Sr., a commercial artist who later became known for his oil paintings of Mexico and the American southwest. The manufacturers of the sign were members of the Balton family, whose ancestor D.F. Balton founded Balton & Sons in Memphis in 1875. The story goes that the sign’s colors were selected because they were favorites of Wilson’s mother. In 1982, following Wilson's departure, the Holiday Inn board of directors made the decision to phase out the "Great Sign" in favor of a cheaper and less catchy backlit sign that still maintained the original script logo. The decision was not without controversy as it essentially signaled the end of the Wilson era and removed a widely recognized company icon.

In 2003, in a program of hotel redesign, the company brought back a revamped version of the Great Sign that showed up the company's advertising under the slogan "Relax, it's Holiday Inn." The makeover came with a new prototype hotel that included photography of the sign and a retro-style diner named after founder Kemmons Wilson.

Wilson retired from Holiday Inn in 1979. In 1988, Holiday Corporation was purchased by UK-based Bass PLC, followed by the remaining domestic Holiday Inn hotels in 1990, when founder Wilson sold his interest, after which the hotel group was known as Holiday Inn Worldwide.

Wilson was the founder of many different kind of companies such as Holiday Inn Records. After selling his shares of Holiday Inn, he formed Wilson World, another hotel chain.

Basketball Team Owner

In July, 1974, Wilson, along with Isaac Hayes, Al Wilson (singer), Mike Storen and others, bought the Memphis Tams franchise in the American Basketball Association. They changed the team to the Memphis Sounds. They quickly built a strong roster, obtaining players such as Mel Daniels and Rick Mount. The team was the most successful pro basketball team that Memphis ever fielded; it finished fourth in the ABA's Eastern Division, advancing to the 1975 ABA Playoffs before losing the Eastern Division semifinal series four games to one to the eventual 1975 ABA champion Kentucky Colonels.

Following the season, the Sounds were sold to a group in Baltimore, Maryland where they moved to become the short-lived Baltimore Claws.

Legacy

His 1996 autobiography, Half Luck and Half Brains, tells the story of Holiday Inn.

Wilson was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1982.

Links:

Kemmons Wilson Companies

Biography

Obituary

The Telegraph (London)

Source: Internet

Wallace E. Johnson

Wallace E. Johnson, Co-Founder Of Holiday Inns Chain in 1950's

Obituary from New York Times

Wallace E. Johnson, co-founder of the Holiday Inns hotel chain, with Kemmons Wilson Jr., died of a heart attack Wednesday in Memphis, where he lived. He was 86 years old.

Mr. Johnson had already become a millionaire in construction when he joined forces with Mr. Wilson, a Memphis businessman, in 1953 to start the company that became the largest hotel and gambling casino operator in the world.

In the 1960's the partners went into two other ambitious ventures that did not pan out. They sought to build a chain of convalescent homes for the elderly, Medicenters of America, and they formed the Alodex Corporation to erect single-family homes. Medicenters never really got off the ground and Alodex suffered huge losses and was liquidated in 1976.

But the partners prospered with Holiday Inns, which became a benchmark for hotel chains not only in the United States but overseas. Eventually they turned over active direction of the business to others and Mr. Johnson retired in 1979, becoming vice president emeritus, while Mr. Wilson stayed on until 1979. Picking Cotton at 7

In spite of his accumulated wealth, Mr. Johnson often referred to himself as ''a poor little old peckerwood boy from Mississippi.''

He was born in Edinburg, Miss., the son of a sawmill laborer who earned 50 cents a day. He started picking cotton when he was 7 years old and by the age of 16 he was an itinerant carpenter; two years later he had saved up $1,800 and began building houses on his own.

His first job, in 1919, was for a railroad agent for whom he agreed to build a home for $9,000. But he had not reckoned on the work involved in installing an intricate French mantelpiece, and he wound up $400 in debt.

He went back to high school and when he graduated three years later he was hired by one of his creditors to manage a lumber yard for $100 a month, a handsome salary in that time and place. Success in Construction

He took a correspondence course in architecture but before he could get back into contracting the Depression struck, so he went to Arkansas to work in a building-supply house. When the Federal Housing Administration began financing single-family home construction in the mid-1930's, he jumped into the field and soon became a major builder in the Memphis area.

During and after World War II he built low-cost housing, earning a reputation for constructing small houses quickly and efficiently, selling them with low down payments. He quickly became a millionaire.

Mr. Johnson is survived by his wife, the former Alma McCool, whom he married in 1924.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Named by the Saturday Evening Post as Memphis' "Henry Ford of the building industry," Wallace E. Johnson is one of the most well remembered entrepreneurs of the city's history. Born into a poor Mississippi farm family, Wallace E. Johnson grew up around housing construction. He went into the home-building business in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 38, with a $250 loan, and within a few years his business was the largest and most successful in the South. In 1953, he joined with Kemmons Wilson to kick-start one of the most well-known business success stories of modern times - Holiday Inn. Together, they built a chain of coast-to-coast inns, offering comfortable accommodations for families at reasonable prices.

Mr. Johnson was also chairman of the board of Medicenters of America, Inc., which he founded in 1966 with Kemmons Wilson. He was also one of the founders of the Home Builders Association of Memphis. He retired as vice chairman of Holiday Inns Inc. in 1977. He and his wife Alma were involved in Union Avenue Baptist Church and in philanthropic endeavors. Johnson Avenue in East Memphis was named for him.

Links:

Wallace Johnson

Source: Internet

Barry Boswell Brooks ~ Epping Forest Manor

Brooks was a world-famous big-game hunter and photographer, naturalist and cotton merchant. He was born in Senatobia, Miss., in 1902, and his father was sheriff of Tate County, Miss. The family moved to Memphis when Brooks was 12.

He attended Washington and Lee University and entered the cotton business in 1922 as a $25-a-month clerk. He retired as head of his own cotton company in 1972.

Brooks was the first American to be accepted into the International Hunting Hall of Fame, and his animal trophies in the Berry B. Brooks African Hall at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum were the favorite attractions for thousands of Memphians and Mid-Southerners for many years. He remarked about the sadness he sometimes felt in collecting animals but said he tried to make every animal he ever collected immortal by giving it to the museum.

Virginia Walton Brooks

904-1997

 

In his later years, he preferred to capture the animals he hunted in photographs and he was a popular Goodwyn Institute lecturer, using his pictures as illustrations.

Brooks and his wife, Virginia, purchased the major portion of their estate - 202 acres - in 1948. Their home was named Epping Forest Manor in honor of Virginia Brooks's ancestor, Col. Joseph Ball, grandfather of George Washington. His Lancaster County seat was named for Epping Forest, the royal hunting preserve, owned by the English Crown. Brooks and his wife kept peacocks and raised cattle on the estate.

In 1972, they sold the major portion of the farm to Cook Investment Properties Inc. and Allen & O'Hara Inc. for development of a multipurpose project, to include single-family, townhouse, apartment and commercial properties, built with an old English theme.

The Brooks property was bounded on the north by James Road, on the west by Highland, and on the east by a north bend of the Wolf River. The new development was named Epping Forest and the north-south street running through the development was named Epping Way. It extends south from James Road and is east of Windermere Drive.


A four-month flight around the world is ahead for Mrs. Berry B. Brooks (left) and her daughter, Miss Virginia Brooks, of Memphis. Here they are brushing up on their knowledge of the Orient, even sitting Japanese fashion while looking through travel articles on Jan. 17, 1956.

Links:

Virginia Walton Brooks

Epping Forest Manor

John Brooks ~ Family History

"Virginia Walton Brooks, 14, got back from her hunting trip in East Africa just in time for school ...."

Letters To The Editor

Death In A Lonely Land By: Peter Hathaway

Don't Mind If I Do By George Hamilton, William Stadiem

The Epping Way Mystery

Source: Internet

The Varsity

The front exterior of The Varsity.

Slogan: What'll ya have??

The Varsity is a restaurant chain, iconic in the modern culture of Atlanta, Georgia. The main branch of the chain is the largest drive-in fast food restaurant in the world. There are now six other branches across metro Atlanta, and another near the University of Georgia in Athens.

History


The Varsity on North Ave. on a Saturday night.

Originally named "The Yellow Jacket,' The Varsity was established in 1928 at the corner of Luckie Street and Hemphill Avenue in Midtown Atlanta. Its founder, Frank Gordy, a Reinhardt University graduate, briefly attended The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) but dropped out in 1925. Then, as now, the restaurant catered heavily to Georgia Tech students. As the business grew, Gordy was forced to move the restaurant to 61 North Avenue (on the northwest corner of Spring Street) to accommodate the crowds; the present structure now covers two city blocks. It was here that the name was changed to "The Varsity," reflecting his desire to expand to other college campuses. During the drive-in era, The Varsity began its curbside service, which continues to this day.

The current location in Atlanta is now adjacent to the Downtown Connector's interchange with North Avenue. When that freeway (now I-75/85) was built by GDOT, it took out several blocks of Williams Street and much of The Varsity's western parking lot, forcing a parking garage to be erected as a replacement. The restaurant and the Georgia Tech campus sit on opposite sides of the Connector, linked by the North Avenue bridge.


The famous Varsity 'V' sign as seen from the Downtown Connector.

The enterprise has since expanded to Athens, Kennesaw, Gwinnett County, and Alpharetta. The Varsity, Jr., located in northeast Atlanta, was the only other location of the chain to offer curbside service. The Varsity, Jr. closed in August 2010 after more than 40 years at that location, after the city of Atlanta failed to approve the chain's plans to replace that building. The plans for the new Varsity, Jr. are instead being used for a new location in Dawsonville scheduled to open in December 2010. In addition, the main location is responsible for more retail sales of Coca-Cola, on an annual basis than any other single location in the world, a record which has stood for many years. The restaurant also offers catering services to the metro Atlanta region for both corporate and non-corporate functions, going as far east as Conyers and Stone Mountain, Georgia.

There is also a mini-Varsity on the campus of Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia. Frank Gordy met his wife, Evelyn, at Reinhardt in 1924 and went on to Georgia Tech to finish his education. Their custom-designed home was later moved from Atlanta to the Reinhardt University campus. The Gordy family gave part of their land to Cobb County for what is now the Mountain View campus of Chattahoochee Technical College and the Mountain View Aquatics Center, the rest was sold in the 1990's for upscale tract housing and strip malls. Gordy Parkway, a loop named for Frank Gordy, serves all of these.

CultureOne of the best-known employees at the Varsity was Erby Walker, who worked there for fifty-five years until he died in 2008. He started at the Varsity at the age of fifteen sweeping floors, and was nearly fired on the first day, but soon graduated to the kitchen. Mr. Walker was noted for his ability to move the service line quickly, especially during the rush period right before a Georgia Tech football game. His signature catchphrase was, "Have your money out and your food on your mind, and I'll getcha to the game on time!" He retired in 2003, but came back three weeks later. That year Walker was inducted into the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau Hospitality Hall of Fame.

Comedian Nipsey Russell began his entertainment career at The Varsity in the 1940's as a car hop. The creative and resourceful Russell would dress in a flamboyant style and pepper his order-taking duties with jokes and amusing songs, thereby earning him extra tips. U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton all visited The Varsity during their terms in office. Mad artist Jack Davis has done advertising for The Varsity.

The Varsity was featured in the movie We Are Marshall while the coaches are recruiting players.

Varsity Lingo


A meal at The Varsity


Varsity catering at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers during the Celebrate Freedom 2007 concert on September 1, 2007


Varsity catering at the House of Cheatham facility in Stone Mountain, Georgia on March 6, 2008

Over the years The Varsity has become synonymous in Atlanta's folklore with a clever and unorthodox catchphrase. Originated by frazzled cashiers as a way to keep the lines moving, the blunt and abbreviated greeting "What'll ya have?" caught on with both staff and public and eventually became the restaurant's unofficial slogan.

Today it appears on takeout boxes and cups as well as Varsity memorabilia and is the required greeting to all customers.

Along with 'What'll ya have?" the Varsity staff, as was common practice, developed their own jargon when calling out orders. Being a restaurant with an open grill, the customers could overhear the staff's slang and eventually began adopting it as their own when placing orders. Recognizing that the customers enjoyed being 'in on the joke' the Varsity eventually began listing its items with both their conventional and jargon references on both their overhead and printed menus.

Hot Dog a hot dog with chili and mustard
Chili Dog same as a hot dog
Naked Dog a plain hot dog in a bun
M.K. Dog a naked dog with mustard and ketchup
Regular C Dog a chili dog with ketchup only
Red Dog a naked dog with ketchup only
Yellow Dog a naked dog with mustard only
Yankee Dog same as a yellow dog
Heavy Dog a hot dog with extra chili
Walk a Dog (or Steak) a hot dog (or hamburger) to go
Steak a hamburger with mustard, ketchup, and pickle
Chili Steak a hamburger with chili
Glorified Steak a hamburger with mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato
Mary Brown Steak (or Dog) a plain hamburger (or hot dog) without a bun
Naked Steak a plain steak
Sally Rand a naked steak
Sally Rand Through the Garden a naked steak with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise
N.I. Orange a Varsity Orange without ice
F.O. a frosted orange shake
Joe-ree coffee with cream
P.C. plain chocolate milk (always served with ice)
N.I.P.C. a P.C. without ice
All The Way with onions (on a hot dog, hamburger, etc.)
Bag of Rags a bag of chips
Ring One order of onion rings
Strings French fries
Sideways onions on the side
V.O. Varsity Orange, the original carbonated orange soda drink
L.G. Lazy Gordy, a Naked Dog and a Sprite

External Links:

Official website

Then (1953) / Now (2004) photo of The Varsity

Then (1963) / Now (2003) photo of The Varsity

World's Largest Drive-In

Atlanta Icons: The Varsity

Source: Wikipedia

Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or "DQ". The first Dairy Queen store opened in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois. The company's corporate offices are located in Edina, Minnesota.

History

The soft serve formula was first developed in 1938 by John Fremont "Grandpa" McCullough (1871‒1963), his son Alex McCullough, and Ronald Baker. They convinced friend and customer Herb Noble to offer the product in his ice cream store in Kankakee, Illinois. On the first day of sales, Noble dished out more than 1,600 servings of the new dessert within two hours. Noble and the McCulloughs went on to open the first Dairy Queen store in 1940 in Joliet, Illinois. While this Dairy Queen is no longer in operation, the building is still located at 501 N Chicago St. Since 1940, DQ has used a franchise system to expand its operations globally. The state with the most Dairy Queen restaurants is Texas. The Texas Dairy Queen Operators' Council facilitates marketing and the food system in Texas. Dairy Queen International is the parent company of Dairy Queen. In the US it operates under American Dairy Queen. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. At the end of its fiscal year 2006, Dairy Queen reported over 5,600 stores in more than a dozen countries; about 4,600 of its stores (approximately 85%) were located in the United States.


The very first Dairy Queen logo from 1940–1960, still in use at a small number of locations

DQ was an early pioneer of food franchising, expanding its 10 stores in 1941 to 100 by 1947, 1,446 in 1950, and 2,600 in 1955. The first store in Canada opened in Estevan, Saskatchewan, in 1953.[11] The red Dairy Queen symbol was introduced in 1959. The company became International Dairy Queen, Inc. (IDQ) in 1962. It was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 1998. Dairy Queens were a fixture of social life in small towns of the Midwestern and Southern United States during the 1950's and 1960's. In that role they have often come to be referenced as a symbol of life in small-town America, as in Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections at Sixty and Beyond by Larry McMurtry, Dairy Queen Days by Robert Inman, and Chevrolet Summers, Dairy Queen Nights by Bob Greene.

As of 2010, Dairy Queen had more than 5,700 stores in 19 countries, including 652 locations outside the United States and Canada. With Dairy Queen being one of the largest soft serve franchises in the world, their main competition includes: Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry's, Braum's, Carvel, Culver's, Foster's Freeze, Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard, McDonald's, Sonic Drive-In, Tastee Freez, and TCBY. The Busiest Dairy Queen is found in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Stores

The company's stores are operated under several brands, all bearing the distinctive Dairy Queen logo and carrying the company's signature soft-serve ice cream (along with the trademark "curl"). Until the 1980's, most Dairy Queen stores were recognizable for their red gambrel-shaped roofs.

Standard Stores


A Dairy Queen store in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Stores which serve a very abbreviated menu primarily feature DQ frozen treats. These locations may be open only during spring and summer; many year-round locations are located in shopping malls.

So-called "Limited Brazier" locations may additionally offer hot dogs, barbecue beef (or pork) sandwiches, and in some cases french fries and chicken, but not hamburgers.

DQ / Orange Julius

Also known as the "Treat Center" concept, an enhanced version of the original DQ also serves drinks and foods from the Orange Julius menu. This is the company's preferred concept for new, small-scale locations, primarily in shopping mall food courts.

Dairy Queen Brazier

Stores serve a normal fast-food menu featuring burgers, french fries, and processed fried chicken products in addition to frozen treats and hot dogs. Due to the protracted rollout of the Grill & Chill concept, Brazier restaurants have been allowed to sell certain products originally restricted to G&C, including GrillBurgers.


1960–2001, still in use on some signs, the red yam was introduced as this logo was first used

The name "Brazier" originated in 1957, when one of the company's franchisees worked to develop a food system that would work for all Dairy Queen restaurants. A brazier is a cooking device consisting of a charcoal or electric heating source over which food is grilled. The term "Brazier" was the result of a brainstorming session with the franchisee's advertising agency.

The "Brazier" name has been slowly phased out of signage and advertising since 1993, although until recently it had not been removed from existing signage. Since the early 2000's, new or renovated locations which are similar to Brazier restaurants in terms of size and menu selection, but have been updated with the current DQ logo and/or exterior, usually carry the name "DQ Restaurant", although the DQ website's Store Locator still lists the non-G&C stores as "Dairy Queen Brazier" and the smaller stores "Dairy Queen Ltd Brazier".


2001–2007 "predecessor logo", notice that the name is shortened into the initials, "DQ"

However The DQ website still considers their burger and hot dog lines as "Brazier Foods", according to the History section of the DQ website and some FAQ listed topics in the DQ website.

DQ Grill & Chill

This is DQ's preferred concept for new and renovated full-service restaurants. Stores are larger than older-style DQ Brazier locations and feature a completely new store design. In most cases, they offer an expanded menu including breakfast, GrillBurgers, and grilled sandwiches, as well as limited table service (customers still place orders at the counter). They also contain self-serve soft drink fountains. Some of the DQ Brazier stores have upgraded to the DQ G&C stores. However, there are still DQ Brazier stores and DQ Ltd.-Brazier stores that have not upgraded to the DQ G&C stores.

Texas Country Foods

Most locations in Texas, including those which otherwise resemble the Brazier or Grill & Chill formats, use a separate hot food menu branded as Texas Country Foods. Among other differences, "Hungr-Buster" burgers are available in place of the Brazier and GrillBurger offerings. Other food offerings not found outside Texas include the Dude chicken fried steak sandwich, Country Baskets and T-Brand Tacos.


A Dairy Queen outlet in Burnet in the Texas Hill Country

Texas is home to the largest number of Dairy Queens in the U.S. All Texas Dairy Queen restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees. The Texas Dairy Queen Operators' Council (TDQOC) runs a separate marketing website from the national website, located at www.dqtexas.com. Bob Phillips, host of the popular Texas syndicated television series Texas Country Reporter, was for many years the DQ spokesman in Texas.

Products

The company's products expanded to include malts and milkshakes in 1949, banana splits in 1951, Dilly Bars in 1955, Mr. Misty slush treats in 1961 (later renamed Misty Slush, then again to Arctic Rush), and a range of hamburgers and other cooked foods under the Brazier banner in 1958. In 1967 the Peanut Buster Parfait, consisting of peanuts, hot fudge, and vanilla soft serve, was introduced. Other items include sundaes and the blended coffee drink, the MooLatte, controversial because of its resemblance to the racial descriptor Mulatto.

Dairy Queen's one hundred (as of 1997) Japanese stores offered hamburgers, but competition from McDonald's made the chain switch to pita sandwiches.


2007–present, notice that the curved lines are surrounding the name's initials (italicized)

The majority of Dairy Queen locations serve Coca-Cola products, but unlike most other restaurants such contracts are not mandated onto the franchisee, and as a result some locations serve Pepsi products instead. Subway (until 2003) and Arby's (until 2006) also allowed such leniency on beverage choice before signing exclusive soft drink deals with Coca-Cola and Pepsi, respectively, making Dairy Queen the last major restaurant chain without an exclusive soft drink contract.

Blizzard

A popular Dairy Queen item is the Blizzard, which is soft-serve mechanically blended with mix-in ingredients such as sundae toppings and/or pieces of cookies, brownies, or candy. It has been a staple on the menu since its introduction in 1985, a year in which Dairy Queen sold 100 million Blizzards. Popular Blizzard flavors include: Oreo Cookies, mint Oreo, chocolate chip cookie dough, M&M's (Smarties in Canada), Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, Heath bar, and Butterfinger. Seasonal flavors are also available such as October's Pumpkin Pie. It has been argued that Dairy Queen drew its inspiration from the concrete served by the St. Louis based Ted Drewes. On July 26, 2010, Dairy Queen introduced a new "mini" size Blizzard, served in 6 oz. cups.

Prior to the introduction of the Blizzard in 1985, Dairy Queen served conventional "thick" milk shakes, in traditional flavors such as vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, with or without added malt, also used the name "Blizzard" as the name of the product.

In addition, Dairy Queen is marketing its new Blizzard Cake which includes flavors such as strawberry cheesecake and Reese's. Much like the restaurant's conventional ice cream cake, this variation is aimed toward celebrations and birthdays.

Frozen Yogurt

In 1990, Dairy Queen began offering frozen yogurt as a lower-calorie alternative to its soft serve ice cream. According to a company representative, Dairy Queen's regular soft serve has 35 calories per ounce and is 95% fat free, whereas the frozen yogurt was 25 calories per ounce. However, in 2001, the company phased out the frozen yogurt option in all its stores citing a lack of demand, the low sales of which made it difficult to keep to the product fresh.

In 2010, International Dairy Queen Inc filed a request for a preliminary injunction to stop Yogubliz Inc, a small California-based frozen yogurt chain, from selling "Blizzberry" and "Blizz Frozen Yogurt", alleging that the names could confuse consumers due to their similarity to Dairy Queen's Blizzard. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner denied Dairy Queen's request.

Advertising

For many years the franchise's slogan was "We treat you right". During the early 1990s, the slogan "Hot Eats, Cool Treats" was widely used. In recent years, it has been changed to "DQ: Something Different." The new slogan, featured in early 2011, is "So Good It's RiDQulous," with Dairy Queen's current logo cleverly infused in the word 'ridiculous'.

In Texas, at the end of the advertisement, there is a Texas flag waving, and the Texas state with the new DQ logo and slogan below saying, "That's What I Like About Texas."

Dennis the Menace appeared in Dairy Queen marketing from 1971 until 2001, when he was dropped because Dairy Queen felt children could no longer relate to him.

The advertising recently focused on a mouth licking its large lips, which later transforms into the present Dairy Queen logo.

In 2011, the outlandish new spots feature a dapper man played by John Behlmann, sporting a moustache, performing crazy feats for Dairy Queen. After announcing tasty menu offers, he would do something outrageous, like blow bubbles with kittens in them, water ski while boxing, and break a piñata where Olympic gymnastics great Mary Lou Retton tumbles out.

Logos


The original retro-style neon sign with a cone, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The original Dairy Queen logo was simply a stylized text sign with a soft serve cone at one end. In the late 1950's, the widely recognized red ovoid design was adopted. The initial shape was asymmetrical, with one of the side points having a greater extension than the other, especially when matched with the Brazier sign—a similarly sized yellow ovoid, tucked diagonally below its companion. By the 1970's, both sides were more closely matched, becoming symmetrical with the 2006 update. Some of the new 1950's signs continued to display a soft serve cone jutting from the right side. "Little Miss Dairy Queen" began appearing in Pennsylvania signage in 1961. She had a Dutch bonnet, resembling the ovoid logo, with a pinafore apron over her dress and wooden shoes. A yellow trapezoid Brazier sign, placed below the red Dairy Queen logo, was developed in the late 1960's. It matched the roofline of the new store design of the era.

Although it had been used interchangeably with the Dairy Queen name for many decades, "DQ" became the company's official name in 2001. The font remained the same as the original signage introduced 60 years prior. Throughout this period, the company placed the registered mark symbol immediately to the right, on the bottom side of the logo. When the company modernized its signage and logos in late 2006, it modified the font and italicized the letters, as well as adding arced lines, an orange to represent its hot foods above and a blue one below to represent its ice cream products. Additionally, in the new design the registered mark symbol was moved to be adjacent to the letter "Q". The first overhaul of its logo in almost 70 years, the company claimed that the new logo would show brand growth and reflect the "fun and enjoyment" associated with its products. Advertising industry observers have noted that the new logo was an unneeded update of known and trusted industry brand and that its new features were distracting.

The original signage is still in use in older locations or in locations that use a "retro" design motif in the property's design. One example is the sign used at the Dairy Queen in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Links:

History Of Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen's Consumer Website

Dairy Queen Blog

Source: Wikipedia

Hunt-Phalen House

This 16-room reddish-brick Hunt / Phelan antebellum mansion, beautiful to behold in its restored state, sits on 5 acres, behind an iron gate, sitting back on its huge lot, with a glorious, expansive green lawn in front. It follows the Greek revival architecture, with other unique embellishments. It originally was built with an escape tunnel. Some say that this mansion was at some point, an underground railroad station, that hid slaves, and got them on the boats to Illinois.

The original structure of Hunt / Phelan House (now The Inn at Hunt Phelan) was built in 1828-1830 by George H. Whyett, minus the later improvements and Ionic Columns. Jesse Tate bought the mansion from George Whyett. Eli and Julia Driver purchased the house from Jesse Tate in 1850. They decided it was time to renovate this mansion with some home improvements, to update the architecture from Federalist to Greek Revival, to be more modern with the trends.

In 1855, the Drivers added a two story kitchen and service wing, improved landscaping, moving the original front portico to the side, and constructing a two-story portico, adding Ionic columns.

The Drivers unfortunately didn't get to live here too long to enjoy the new look of their mansion. Around the outbreak of the Civil War, and throughout its duration, the Driver's son-in-law, William Richard Hunt, owned the mansion.

Eli and Julia Driver must of had great discernment and taste, for their mansion caught the fancy of both the Confederate military leadership and the Union military leadership, who loved the new improvements so much that they each, when they were in control of the city of Memphis, made this mansion their headquarters. Also, perhaps the underground escape tunnel was a feature that was irresistible. How could you, as a homeowner, say no?

The Confederate military leadership moved into the mansion, at the start of the Civil War. Confederate General Leonidas Polk planned the battle at Corinth, Mississippi, in this mansion. After the naval defeat of Memphis ships on the Mississippi River, Memphis was taken over without a fight by Union Troops in 1862. This resulted in no house to house combat, less bloodshed & civilian casualties, and new occupants for this mansion. Union headquarters moved into the Hunt/Phelan mansion, three steps behind the Confederates moving out. After the Battle of Shiloh, Union General Ulysses S. Grant used the house, June 27 to July 12, 1862. Grant planned the battle strategy to take Vicksburg while sitting in the mansion's library & parlor..

Memphis became the supply center for the Union forces, and a place to send their wounded to recover. From 1863 to 1865, the mansion became a soldiers' home and hospital, and provided housing for teachers sent to Memphis to teach the freed people who once were slaves, under the control of Union's Western Sanitary Commission.

In 1865, the house once more became the private residence of the Hunts, who began the long process of repairing this lovely mansion, now a bit war-torn, and damaged from institutional use.

In the 20th century, the mansion was sold to a Standard Oil geologist, Stephen Rice Phelan; a rather peculiar man. Though he dutifully wrote down on paper the history of the mansion, he became more and more of a recluse as he aged, neglecting the maintenance of this mansion, (uh oh); something one can't do when owning an older home. The mansion was chained and padlocked, and the grass and weeds grew tall, as the mansion deteriorated, becoming an eye-sore.

Bill Day, Phelan's nephew, came to the mansion's rescue when he inherited this once, lovely home, now a real fixer-upper opportunity, in the 1990's. He put a boatload of money into an extensive restoration of the mansion, using old photos and maps, and the skills of restoration architects and artists. In the mid -1990's, the mansion once again received visitors, coming to take a tour of this restored beauty. Maintaining a large ante-bellum mansion is hard, unless a way is found to put the mansion in question to work. Day wound up selling the mansion to a couple, minus the original furnishings and papers, who opened up an Inn, putting the Hunt-Phelan mansion to work as a commercial enterprise, calling it, The Inn at Hunt Phelan.

Check out the website for The Hunt-Phalen Inn.

Source: Internet

Annesdale-Snowden District ~ Memphis, TN

Annesdale, one of the city’s most historic properties and grandest homes an Italianate villa, built in 1850.

An Old Fashion Neighborhood Hidden In The Heart Of Memphis

The origins of the neighborhood can be traced back to 1850. Dr. Samuel Mansfield built an Italianate mansion on the outskirts of Memphis on a knoll above the stage route to Mississippi. In 1869 Colonel Robert C. Brinkley bought the home as a wedding gift to his daughter, Annie Overton Brinkley, and her new husband, Colonel Robert Bogardus Snowden. The two hundred acre estate was Annesdale in her honor.

Their sons, John and Robert, along with their father, built in 1903 what is recognized as "the first subdivision in the South, "Annesdale Park". After this successful venture, the Snowden brothers developed the Snowden Homestead Subdivision in 1910. These exclusive lots were sold for top prices and featured all of the modern conveniences of the era. The streets were named after their children.

The early residents kept the neighborhood fashionable through the teens, twenties and thirties. Kemmons Wilson, Mignon Dunn, and Walk C. Jones are famous names that called Annesdale Snowden home. The depressionand WW II took their toll. The neighborhood began it's decline. Zoning changes to multi-family further deteriorated the area through the 1950's and 1960's.

Then in 1975, the Annesdale - Snowden Association was formed with the goals of halting commercial encroachment and of improving the general appearance of the neighborhood. As a result of a request by this group, the Memphis City Council approved down-zoning to the original single-family configuration in 1977. Further proof of the area's value came in 1979 with listing in the National Register of Historic Places And in 1983, the neighborhood was honored by the City Council as first listed in the Memphis Landmarks Register. Thus, today, the area is known as the Annesdale - Snowden Historic District.



Click Here to read the Daily News article

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Household items were sold from the Annesdale-Snowden home on March 2010 and below is an article by the auction company with a little history on the house and some of it's contents.

(Contents from the historic Annesdale mansion-villa in Memphis, Tenn., plus several other private Southern collections and a marvelous collection of antique guns, will highlight a sale scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2010. The event will be facilitated by Hal Hunt Auctions.

Annesdsale is a beautiful structure, originally built in 1855 by Dr. Samuel Marsfield as a wedding present for his wife. In 1869, a Mr. Robert Brinkley bought the mansion as a wedding gift for his daughter, Annie Overton Brinkley. The 200-acre estate (pronounced “Annie’s Dale”) was named in her honor. The treasures of Annesdsale comprise the collective assembly of five generations of one family.


Monumental gold leaf over-the-mantel mirror, 8 feet 6 inches tall.

In 1876, Annie and her husband, Col. Robert Bogardus Snowden, spent their wedding anniversary at the Philadelphia Exposition, where they purchased many fine and unique furniture items that will be included in the sale. Their purchases included a 14-foot-long banquet table with matching marble-top sideboard, and a fantastic king-size bed with matching ornate mirror.


R.J. Horner round oak table, 60 inches in circumference, circa 1890s.

In 1932, the Snowdens purchased four magnificent and matching Gothic bookcases (also to be sold, with the sales receipt from 1932 and photographs) from the heirs of Helen Johnstone Harris, known as the “Bride of Annandale.” Annandale is another mansion estate, similar in name to Annesdale, located in Madison County, Miss., and burned to the ground years ago.


Gorgeous rose medallion porcelain bowl, 19th century.

Harris was known as the Bride of Annandale because, on the eve of her wedding to Henry Vick, he was tragically killed in a duel. Three years later, she married a Confederate Episcopal chaplain, George Harris, and the couple built a mansion at Mt. Helena Plantation in Rolling Fork, Miss. The bookcases and other furnishings were moved by rail to Rolling Fork.


One of a pair of 19th century Old Paris porcelain figures (the other a woman) that will be on the block.

Some of the other items that will be sold at the March 13 auction include a Regina bow-front music box changer made around 1900, playing 15½-inch discs and rare because it has a stained glass door (not a plain glass door); numerous pieces of Sevres and Old Paris porcelain; and a John H. Belter rosewood dressing vanity, rosewood bed and étagère in the Rosalie pattern.


One of four matching American Gothic bookcases from the historic Annesdale mansion-villa in Memphis

Also set to cross the block will be monumental bronze clock sets with cherubs; several pieces of great Pottier & Stymus Victorian furniture; and furniture by R.J. Horner, to include a winged lady’s partner’s desk, a winged desk and dining room table; a triple-door bookcase with Atlas men; and a matched pair of winged griffin lamps tables, about 42 inches in circumference.


Tall, high-back American Renaissance bed with bronze plaques, 69 inches by 82 inches.

Clocks made by R.J. Horner will include an 8½-foot-tall mahogany grandfather clock with winged griffins and cherubs, and an oak grandfather clock labeled Tiffany. Also sold will be furniture by Thomas Brooks; a J. & J.W. Meeks laminated marble-top center table; and old paneled glass lamps and leaded glass lamps by makers such as Wilkinson and Chicago Mosaic.


This highly carved black walnut clock was made by Ferdinand Lapp.

The bed furnished by the Snowdens at the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876 is a high-back Renaissance bed, an oversized queen (almost king) at 69 inches by 82 inches and with bronze plaques. Also purchased at the Exposition was a highly carved black walnut clock, similar to a mantel clock and made by Ferdinand Lapp. The clock was so striking it won awards at the show.


Acanthus leaf carved canopy bed, mahogany, circa 1890s.

Rounding out the expected top lots: an acanthus carved 4-poster bed, 10 feet tall (from Annesdale); two gold leaf, 8-foot-tall over-the mantel mirrors in original condition (also from Annesdale); a 19th-century rose medallion center bowl with bronze mounts; two walnut Victorian regulator grandfather clocks (one a Gilbert, Regulator #7; and one an Ansonia, Regulator #11); and a monumental Mitchells & Rammelsberg walnut half tester bed, 9 ½ feet tall, circa 1865.)

Click Here for pictures of the home by the Memphis, Commercial Appeal.

Source: Internet