Opened in 1962

Dear Kinfolk,
My daughter Patricia suggested I write about my career in the food business. Although it was an up and down ride, I would do it again. I made a million (not dollars) great friends and lots of wonderful times watching my staff grow up to be productive adults. My three daughters, Debra, Sally and Patricia started working when they reached thirteen. They had a early lesson on how to make onion rings (I did this to keep the boys away as their hands smelled like onions). The early lesson on how to serve the public gave them a strong work ethic and tenacity to have their successful careers in medicine, accounting and food service.

I am not for sure how I ended up in the restaurant business, my college degree was in Agriculture with a Masters in Meat Science. I thought I would be a rancher like my grandfather Elmer J. Guernsey. However after time in the Air Force and a family to feed, I realized that dream was not going to happen ( I did own a few Herford cattle that granddad let me graze on his ranch) and I loved helping my father-in-law Hal Hackleman with his registered Herford ranch.

Back to the restaurant career, while working for Wilson Meat Packing Company in the late 1950,s my desire to have my own business began to grow. I was on a track to be promoted to their corporate office in Chicago and that was not on my bucket list. I found an empty lot in the Village, Oklahoma City and a friend and banker that would loan me $15,000, to build a drive thru hamburger restaurant we named the Carriage House. The day we opened was the very first day that I had ever worked in a restaurant, a real learning lesson! My cook asked how I wanted the hamburgers cooked, my answer, put some hamburgers on the char broiler and lets watch them cook.
Needless to say this in NOT how to start a new business, but we survived.  This was my start in this fun and crazy business, more stories to follow.  Jim

This was long before McDonalds had the idea for a drive-thru.