by Lee P.
Member since:
September 2, 2008

Speede MacDonald

July 20, 2009 12:08 AM EDT (Updated: July 20, 2009 12:10 AM EDT)
views: 87 | comments: 32

 

Do you remember when and where you ate your first MacDonald’s hamburger?  I do.  It was in Washington D. C. in 1959.  The new hamburger chain had finally made it to Washington D. C. and they were still posting the number of hamburgers sold on their sign.  This was before Ronald MacDonald was the official mascot for the food chain.  The mascot then was a little man with a chef’s hat on his hamburger bun head named Speede.  We would drive up in our car and get out and walk up to the order window to place our order, this was before drive through ordering.  The hamburgers were 15¢ each.  They were goooood and gave the many White Castle hamburger joints a good run for the money.  White Castle hamburgers were gooooood to. 

 

The images below were copied and pasted from Googles clip-art free images for those of you who do not remember Speede.

 
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Comments: 32

Palmer S. Jul 20, 2009, 12:15am EDT
Well, Mcdonalds was already huge by the time that I was born, so I was probably too young too remember my first hamburger.
Hi,
I remember those, and we had one, finally in Enfield, CT and that one's now closed...but we never did get any White Castle burgers, so the MacDonalds is the only one I tried. What happened then is what would happen now, if I ate one, I'd get sick in the parking lot - happens in every fast food place I've ever tried, wow, embarrassing and does it happen to anyone else? Nope! lol
Marilyn

PS: You sure you want to get on that plane? :)
Joyce ("Site Cheshire Kitteh") L. Jul 20, 2009, 1:35am EDT
Marilyn,

What about the one in Newington on the Berlin Turnpike? That one was around when the sign said "over 5 million sold"! My first burger was there - 1 hamburger, fries and a coke all for 49 cents... those were the days... Lee, thank you for these memories!
Dawn (kitty on the wall) Jul 20, 2009, 12:21am EDT
i've seen at least two still standing
Larry H. Jul 20, 2009, 12:29am EDT
in burton michigan
Michelle S. Jul 20, 2009, 12:30am EDT
i do remember speede. i don't remember my first mcdonald's burger, but i do remember the first burger king. i was about 8 years old, living in virginia. the first burger king in town opened & EVERYONE was there to try it. :)
Larry H. Jul 20, 2009, 12:40am EDT
I saw a McDonald's Juwhere it was though.st like the one in the picture a few days ago. Don't remember where it was though. Some where between Detroit and Home, saw it on one of our side trips home for one of the dog parks we go to.
Terry M. Jul 20, 2009, 2:32am EDT
Mine was in Marshal Texas, and it was a let down.
Lee P. Jul 20, 2009, 2:41am EDT
Terry, I've been to Marshal, Texas many times. They have a nice MacDonalds there now. LOL

I've been meaning to tell you that as a child I once lived in Malvern, Arkansas. That was way back in the stone ages and Malvern hasn't changed too much since then. LOL
Linda T. Jul 20, 2009, 2:53am EDT
I can't remember how old I was. I do remember that there was no seating inside. The lowest price I can remember is when I was around 12. McDonalds used to run specials of 5 hamburgers for $1.00.
Cathi L. Jul 20, 2009, 3:12am EDT
I like White Castle hamburgers, too, but they have to be eaten fresh. If you buy a bag and bring them home to eat them, they won't be as good.

I remember MacDonald's looking like that. I grew up in the DC area and we had one in our little town of Annandale with the big golden arches and the big sign with "over 100 million sold" on it.
fancy c. Jul 20, 2009, 7:05am EDT
oh it is a favorite here
Kim B. Jul 20, 2009, 7:19am EDT
I can't remember the year, couldn't have been to long after your first one. It was in Fairfax, Va. Looked like that one, had the little man, 15 cents, yes indeed, I was hooked at an early age. My Dad would take us from Manassas once a month for this treat.
thanks for the memories
Janet Somewhere Up On The Mount Jul 20, 2009, 8:07am EDT
I don't remember where I had my 1st McDonalds. I wish we still had White Castles. Love those.
d d. Jul 20, 2009, 9:01am EDT
I can't remember if it was a mcdonalds, but we use to go to a hamburger place and the hamburgers were .05. I'll have to ask my sister if she remembers the name of the place.
Rebecca [Future Teacher] Jul 20, 2009, 9:23am EDT
They were pretty big when I was born so I don't remember the first time I had one, but the earliest memory I have of having one was when they did the promotion of 101 dalmation toys in the very late 80's or early 90's
Barb (Gather Site Ferret) Carlson Jul 20, 2009, 10:13am EDT
Oh my! I don't remember Speede, but I do remember hamburgers being 15 cents. The clearest memory I have of McDonald's was during high school (in the 70's) stopping at one for lunch. I remember they really were fast, too.

I'm glad I didn't have Marilyn's reaction! I often got a tummy ache, but nothing that embarrassing.
Renee (Pres of Baby James Foundation) ~. Jul 20, 2009, 11:46am EDT
I don't remember them either but very cool I could afford that.
David W. Jul 20, 2009, 11:50am EDT
In New York there was a McDonalds clone called Wetson's . They came to Long Island before Mickey D arrived and then were bought out by the larger chain. The hamburgers were simular and cost about the same, fifteen cents. Their only advantage was that hey sold fried chicken on the bone ans an additonla item.
David W. Jul 20, 2009, 11:52am EDT
Our most famous chain of burgers still exists. White Castle. commonly referred to as "Belly bombs" then and "Sliders" today. Back in the day they were twelve-cents and a good man could eat a dozen in a sitting. Not to be left out so could a good woman.
barbara b. Jul 20, 2009, 1:04pm EDT
don't remember but they bother me, Burger Kng is preferred
Jan C. Jul 20, 2009, 2:10pm EDT
I don't remember my first, but I do recall eating quite a few white castles when I lived in Florida.

We are finally getting Sonic here on the westcoast. Soon (about 2-3mos.) we should have one in our little subburb town of Seattle...
Jan C. Jul 20, 2009, 2:12pm EDT
A nearby Sonic that opened a few months back in Puyallup, WA has been so busy they had to put up staging areas in a nearby parking lot and direct traffic. I heard the wait was about 2 hours.

I remember enjoying it, but don't think I'd wait that long ... I am guessing we will just wait to make our visit when the novelty wears off.

They still have the girls on roller skates delivering the food car-side :)
Barbara M. Jul 20, 2009, 6:25pm EDT
I don't remember when, but I do remember the first McDonald's in our area. We loved going there and getting 15 cent hamburgers.
Amber C. Jul 20, 2009, 10:08pm EDT
I've never been to a White Castle. They don't have them around here. Although they do sell their products in the freezer section of our local Walmart Supercenter.
Debbie W. Jul 21, 2009, 12:01am EDT
Never knew that. Thanks for sharing
penni d. Jul 21, 2009, 12:02am EDT
believe it or not, I was in my 30's before I went thru those golden arches, Lee. I was so over that by the time I hit 40.
Sheila Deeth Jul 22, 2009, 1:24am EDT
My first was a Whimpy burger in England. I remember wondering if all Americans ate them, and if American ones tasted the same.
Sassy Cat Jul 22, 2009, 10:06pm EDT
I sure don't remember Speede. Those were some cheap hamburgers!!
William Dotani Jul 25, 2009, 12:25pm EDT
I do remember this. The Big Mac once tasted good. I wouldn't feed it to a pig in a sty today.
William Dotani Jul 25, 2009, 12:30pm EDT
Actually, I was extremely shocked when I first went to McDonald's in 1998. I had lived in Japan since 1982 and had bought hambugers from McDonald's there quite often because the food looked and tasted good. The hambuger I bought here in good ole patriotic USA wasn't fit for a dog. I will not eat there. Our country is so cheap that we have lost sight of even rudimentary quality.
Elaine D. Aug 16, 2009, 12:30am EDT
We went to the first McDonalds I remember that was close to my High School in Dearborn, Michigan. Never really was a big fan of their food.

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