Colorization of the original Ronald McDonald, ca. 1963.

Under that crazy get-up is Willard Scott, future weather presenter for the Today show

10 thoughts on “Colorization of the original Ronald McDonald, ca. 1963.

  1. I saw an interview with Willard Scott in which he said Ray Kroc offered both Willard and his secretary McDonalds stock in exchange for less money up front. His secretary took the stock and retired a millionaire. Willard didn’t take the deal. Ooops.

    Here’s a question though, are those french fried on Ronald’s tray or did McDonalds sell churros back in the day

    1. Found a 1963 McDonald’s menu online. Grand total of nine items, six of which were beverages. No churros, or pretzel sticks, or whatever those things on Willard’s get-up are supposed to be. Although not on the menu I looked at, 1963 was the year of the infamous Hula Burger–a slice of pineapple with cheese. Doesn’t appear to have survived the year. Other than that, it was just a burger, fries and a drink, which would set you back 50 cents, give or take.

      1. Yes. When I used to go to McDonalds in the early 1970’s, which were the first times I bought my own meals, the menu was repeated in its entirety at least 4 times in the signage above and behind the counter. I think the fish sandwich had shown up by then, but not much else.

      2. I worked at McDonald’s in 1968 and again in 1969 (summer jobs). By then the menu included the fish sandwich and the big mac. In those days we received shipments of raw potatoes at the outlet, and had to create the fries by ourselves in the rear sinks. That changed a year or two after I left.

        In 1969 we had a mini-revolt from customers when we raised the price of the regular burger from 15 cents to 18 or 19 (I can’t remember which).

        1. That (1969) was the same year they got rid of the 5-cent Hershey bar. Clearly, those were turbulent times.

          1. I remember my mother remarking on how small they had gotten. The local Walgreens now gets $1.29 for a regular size Hershey bar, unless there’s a sale on.

          2. It was a bit earlier when comics made their much-despised move from ten cents to twelve.

            Of course, this is an old guy talkin’, but when I was a kid a dollar would buy ten comic books or 20 candy bars or 20 packs of baseball cards.

            Comics have gone from ten cents to about four bucks. Of course, that’s over the course of 60+ years, so the compound rate of growth is “only” something like 6% annually, but the raw numbers are daunting!

          3. I was born in 1968. I don’t remember 5 cent candy bars. I do remember when they were 15 cents though. I can also remember 20 cent cans of soda. Those were the days. My dad used to manage a liquor store for his Aunt. I used to go to work with him sometimes. When I was 7, he began paying me $1 for each day I would work at the store stocking shelves and ringing up customers. I’m pretty sure he was looking over my shoulder when I ran the register. But I’ll say this, it was a great way to practice math. My dad would sometimes stop at a bar before going home. He had a friend that worked in construction. He heard that I was making $1/day and offered to pay me $1/hour to work with him when I turned 14. At that time, $10 seemed to last me almost forever. The idea of making $40/week blew my mind. Of course, by the time I was 14 that didn’t seem nearly as attractive.

        2. Remember buying (3) sticks of gum at a local store for a penny. Also remember when politicians weren’t corrupt. 😮 ok, that’s a lie …

          Remember when politicians actually tried not to be assholes!

          Remember when god, Cronkite, Bill Cosby were the (3) most trusted people in America. Cronkite died and god is iffy now lol.

          Hey, who didn’t love the Jello pudding commercials? Digressing …

          1. I got my 1st comic just a few months after the raise from 20 cents to 25. The big choice was a comic, a game of pinball, a couple Bubs Daddy, or a pack of baseball cards with really hard gum. Or if I could find a nickle or dime in the parking lot, I could go with 2 Gold Key comics which were cheaper, but Donald Duck’s adventures were definitely not as exciting as Spider-Man’s.

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