University of Cincinnati Magazine April 2008 : 6
LETTERSAlum recalls UC McDonald’s fame I love reading your magazine and seeing what the University of Cincinnati has been add- ing to the campus since my graduation in 2001. I remember joking with people that UC truly stood for “under construction,” and it seems like the campus has grown exponentially every year. Nevertheless, it seems that something has been lost in the last 10 years. I know; it’s shock- ing that with all of the new buildings and programs, the university might be missing something. And I am not talking about “B-Lot” parking. This deletion is much more panic inducing than simply finding a place to park near Lawrence Hall (R.I.P.). Students can no longer quickly grab a Correction In the last issue of “UC Magazine,” we misspelled the name of Jose Kozan, research associate who has been leading architecture students in putting 3-D models of UC on Google Earth. To view the projects, visit www. magazine.uc.edu/extra. McDonald’s burger and fries on the way from McMicken Hall to Zimmer Auditorium. I saw the picture in your November issue and was sad- dened that there would be no more “Freshman 15,” despite the fact that it was more like an additional 30 pounds from living off of Big Macs and Coke. McDonald’s is GONE! This matter is also of utmost importance because that location was the first McDonald’s on a college campus — a fact easily determined by any reader who spent as much time in those lines as I did. I am sure that many readers learned the trick to get the freshest meals there. You simply changed something. My favorite tactic was the “no-onions” maneuver. This required waiting, but I didn’t mind being late to class. Zimmer Auditorium is a big place, and I was convinced that my prof couldn’t tell when I came in anyway. It was while I was performing the no-onions exercise that I decided to read a plaque on the wall and was surprised to learn that the UC McDonald’s was the first ever on a college cam- pus. I read it on a plaque, so it has to be true. So it is with poor cholesterol and a love of salty fries that I raise my glass — well, it is more like a waxy-cardboard cup — to McDonald’s. You have shown me that “super-sized” does not merely refer to the size of campus. And to the current students of UC, use that salad bar in Siddall Hall well, because when I was in school, I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow, and the only fast-food restaurant on campus was afraid to put the nutritional infor- mation on the side of its packets. Bloated and sincerely, Chuck Hamilton, A&S ’00, Ed ’01 Erlanger, Ky. Editor’s note: It’s embarrassing to realize we overlooked such vital information. To make it worse, in the fall of ’06, Jennifer Lerner, att. ’78, wrote asking if our McDonald’s was once the larg- est in the world. She wanted us to validate her wisdom for family members who didn’t believe her. Sadly, we didn’t believe her, either, because we couldn’t verify it. But Hamilton’s letter was so emphatic that we reopened the search and determined both alumni were right. The TUC McDonald’s was the first collegiate one and the largest at one time. UC Archives and Rare Books staff located data in old UC Board of Trustees minutes, as well as old issues of the News Record. According to that research, McDonald’s opened on Oct. 2, 1973, in Tangeman University Center’s Columbia Room, featuring its regular hamburger menu, plus a new breakfast menu. Nearly 60 people, mostly students, were ini- tially hired, and the hair code became quite con- troversial. Men’s hair could not cover the top of the ears or touch the shirt collar, and sideburns could not extend below the ear lobes. In less than two weeks, the News Record had pointed out that hair length was not a “criteria for judging com- petency,” adding that even UC President Warren Bennis, HonDoc ’07, had hair that was too long for him to be hired. The standard did not seem to affect business. “The noon crowds speak for themselves,” pointed out student John Frederika in a later issue of the newspaper. As for another piece of McDonald’s trivia, a local McDonald’s owner, Lou Groen, developed the company’s first fish sandwich in 1962 because his business, in a largely Roman Catholic neigh- borhood, fell dramatically during Lent. 4 University of Cincinnati UCMagazine April 2008 photo/Sandy Underwood/courtesy of UC Archives & Rare Books
Alum Recalls Uc McDonalds Fame
I love reading your magazine and seeing what the University of Cincinnati has been adding to the campus since my graduation in 2001.<br /> <br /> I remember joking with people that UC truly stood for “under construction,†and it seems like the campus has grown exponentially every year.<br /> <br /> Nevertheless, it seems that something has been lost in the last 10 years. I know; it’s shocking that with all of the new buildings and programs, the university might be missing something. And I am not talking about “B-Lot†parking. This deletion is much more panic inducing than simply finding a place to park near Lawrence Hall (R.I.P.). Students can no longer quickly grab a McDonald’s burger and fries on the way from McMicken Hall to Zimmer Auditorium. I saw the picture in your November issue and was saddened that there would be no more “Freshman 15,†despite the fact that it was more like an additional 30 pounds from living off of Big Macs and Coke.<br /> <br /> McDonald’s is GONE! This matter is also of utmost importance because that location was the first McDonald’s on a college campus — a fact easily determined by any reader who spent as much time in those lines as I did.<br /> <br /> I am sure that many readers learned the trick to get the freshest meals there. You simply changed something. My favorite tactic was the “no-onions†maneuver.<br /> <br /> This required waiting, but I didn’t mind being late to class. Zimmer Auditorium is a big place, and I was convinced that my prof couldn’t tell when I came in anyway.<br /> <br /> It was while I was performing the no-onions exercise that I decided to read a plaque on the wall and was surprised to learn that the UC McDonald’s was the first ever on a college campus.<br /> <br /> I read it on a plaque, so it has to be true.<br /> <br /> So it is with poor cholesterol and a love of salty fries that I raise my glass — well, it is more like a waxy-cardboard cup — to McDonald’s.<br /> <br /> You have shown me that “super-sized†does not merely refer to the size of campus.<br /> <br /> And to the current students of UC, use that salad bar in Siddall Hall well, because when I was in school, I had to walk uphill both ways in the snow, and the only fast-food restaurant on campus was afraid to put the nutritional information on the side of its packets.<br /> <br /> Bloated and sincerely, Chuck Hamilton, A&S ’00, Ed ’01 Erlanger, Ky.<br /> <br /> Editor’s note: It’s embarrassing to realize we overlooked such vital information. To make it worse, in the fall of ’06, Jennifer Lerner, att. ’78, wrote asking if our McDonald’s was once the largest in the world. She wanted us to validate her wisdom for family members who didn’t believe her. Sadly, we didn’t believe her, either, because we couldn’t verify it.<br /> <br /> But Hamilton’s letter was so emphatic that we reopened the search and determined both alumni were right. The TUC McDonald’s was the first collegiate one and the largest at one time.<br /> <br /> UC Archives and Rare Books staff located data in old UC Board of Trustees minutes, as well as old issues of the News Record. According to that research, McDonald’s opened on Oct. 2, 1973, in Tangeman University Center’s Columbia Room, featuring its regular hamburger menu, plus a new breakfast menu.<br /> <br /> Nearly 60 people, mostly students, were initially hired, and the hair code became quite controversial.<br /> <br /> Men’s hair could not cover the top of the ears or touch the shirt collar, and sideburns could not extend below the ear lobes. In less than two weeks, the News Record had pointed out that hair length was not a “criteria for judging competency,†adding that even UC President Warren Bennis, HonDoc ’07, had hair that was too long for him to be hired.<br /> <br /> The standard did not seem to affect business.<br /> <br /> “The noon crowds speak for themselves,†pointed out student John Frederika in a later issue of the newspaper.
Publication List
