European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ii  White Castle started the fast food Chain and Mcdonald s expanded on the idea starting with a franchise in Des Plaines 111., and creating links around the world like this site in Paris. But the hamburger is not yet a National craze. Most americans distrust ground meat largely because of newspaper exposes on the . Meat packing Industry. And there is also the matter of taste. At the time hamburgers were thick lumps not patties usually cooked slowly until they were dry and devoid of most flavor. Then came Walter Anderson a Fry Cook from Wichita Kan. Anderson was the first to lift the Burger above the banal. After toying with various grades and grinds of beef Anderson discovered that he could get a Good tasting Burger by flattening the meat and then grilling it quickly to Seal in the flavor and juices. In 1916, Anderson opened a remodeler Streetcar with three stools and started serving 1 ounce 2 a a Inch Square hamburgers for a Nickel apiece. The place Wasny to the Best kept a his original Iron griddle did no to have upturned edges to hold the grease a but the twice daily deliveries of meat and Rolls ensured that customers got a fresh flavorful Sandwich and the idea started to catch on. Anderson opened two larger shops in 1920 and then needing help to expand teamed up with a local real estate and insurance Man Edgar Waldo Ingram. With a $700 loan the pair opened a fourth operation in March 1921, housing it in a 10-by-15-foot whitewashed building made from Concrete blocks. For some reason they decided to add notches or Crene lations along the top of the Walls and Ingram named the place White Castle. The White Castle system of eating houses grew quickly. By 1931, the Chain operated 115 units most finished in White enamel plates later popularized by service stations that led to the nickname a porcelain  after White Castle hamburger chains proliferated with takeout Speed. By 1938, there were Little taverns White taverns toddle houses White huts Rock Bilts Hull Dobbs houses crystals and Royal castles spread from Florida to Kentucky to Ohio. With just a few notable exceptions the hamburger business remained pretty much the same until the 1950s. One addition was the first double Decker hamburger the big boy invented in 1937 by Robert c. Wian or. For a group of travelling musicians who wanted something different. There was also the Rise and fall of the drive in devised at a pig stand pork Sandwich stand on the Dallas fort Worth Highway in 1921. Steak in shake a hamburger Chain founded in Normal 111., in 1934 by Gus Belt took up the idea and began offering customers the option of eating in their autos. At first food orders were taken by waiters called car hops because of the Way they jumped up on the running boards. Later customers could order on such devices As the Auto hop Dine a Mike fone a chef or a personal favorite the Lindley wireless expedit Tor. Which brings us to the Mcdonalds. Richard and Maurice a a Mac Mcdonald were a couple of new Hampshire boys who had gone West in the 1920s. Their first work was driving Al trucks moving scenery and doing other Odd jobs for the film Industry but they eventually bought an octagonal drive in in Arcadia calif., not far from the Santa Anita Racetrack. The Brothers later sawed the restaurant in half and moved it to san Bernardino where they a lucked into a site on the main Street Only four blocks from san Bernardino High. By 1947, the Mcdonalds had invented the big Mac double Decker Burger prudently named after Maurice instead of brother Dick and needed 17 car hops to keep up with business. The following year however tired of Drunken Cooks and teen age help the Brothers dismissed the car hops and introduced a rigid self serve menu. Although it offered Only 15-cent hamburgers 10-cent French Fries and 20-cent milkshakes the restaurant caught on with workers and truck Drivers who needed food fast. And fast it was the Brothers took 20 seconds to sell a hamburger beverage and Fries. The need for Speed drove the Brothers to design special dispensers that put the exact amount of Ketchup and Mustard on every Bun. They also pioneered the idea of using infrared lamps to keep the Fries warm and shortened the spindles on their Multi mixers to make shakes directly in their paper serving cups. By 1952, the Brothers had sold 8 million burgers and were pushing 30,000 orders of Fries across the counter every month. Tired of answering questions about their Success the Mcdonalds decided to begin franchising an idea originated earlier that year by Kentucky Chicken King Harland Sanders. The first franchising agent for the Mcdonald s speeder service system took sick in 1954, and Fate handed the Brothers Ray a. Kroc jr., a Chicago distributor of Milkshake machines. Kroc opened Mcdonald a franchise no. I in Des Plaines 111., in 1955, the first of the company a red and White striped buildings featuring curved yellow bands jutting from the roof. Although Kroc eventually bought the Brothers out a in 1961, fora paltry $2.7 million a he kept close to the Mcdonald a founding principles of simplicity and Speed. As late As 1968, Kroc discouraged franchise owners from hiring girls because he believed they could be easily distracted by their boyfriends with a resulting Fleet on service. One of Kroc a first official acts of ownership was to junk speeder the hamburger headed chel that had been the company a logo since 1953. Speed Eek a crime being too similar to speedy the Alka Seltzer character. Like White Castle three decades before Mcdonald s spawned a flurry of imitators including inst Burger King Henry a hamburgers carrots a a serving a second. Burger chef Whala Burg or and Hardeep a among Many Many others. A amp a a Chain of Root Beer stands started by Row w. Allen and Frank Wright in 1922. Was one of the first to take on the overseas Market opening an outlet in Kaiserslautern West Germany in the mid-1960s. It took a Century but the hamburger had finally made it Home. Today Mcdonald a is hawking the hamburger at 10,500 outlets in 51 countries More than twice its nearest competitor. Those Sites include Andorra that cartographic speck in the pyrenees. Luxembourg has two. England and West Germany have each topped the 300 Mark. The outlets stretch from Norway to Turkey with stops at Hungary and Yugoslavia along the Way. The first Moscow Mcdonald a opened in january and if perestroika prevails Golden Arches could one Day stretch from Minsk to Mongolia. The top five . Hamburger chains grossed a staggering $36 billion last year $ 160 for every american expected to be tallied in the latest census. That a $ 10 billion More than the Cost of the entire race to the Moon or four times what the government plans for the War on drugs next year. Its a third of the 1991 defense budget. And remember it All started with some egyptians looking for fast food. . Kominicki is a stars and stripes editor and great consumer Olast Lood facts