Colonel Sanders and Dave Thomas: Fast-Food Pioneers and Masonic Brothers

 

Two of the most recognizable figures in American fast-food history shared more than an entrepreneurial connection. Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s, were both active Freemasons, Scottish Rite Masons, and Shriners. Their professional lives crossed years before Thomas created Wendy’s, and Thomas later publicly remembered Sanders not only as a business associate and mentor, but as a fellow Mason and friend.

Colonel Harland Sanders

Harland David Sanders entered Freemasonry long before his famous white suit, string tie, and fried-chicken recipe made him an American icon. Records derived from the Grand Lodge of Kentucky card file show that Sanders was initiated on April 6, 1917, in Henryville Lodge No. 651 in Henryville, Indiana. He received the Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees in 1919, with Clark Lodge No. 40 assisting Henryville Lodge by courtesy. Sanders demitted from Henryville Lodge in 1920.

More than three decades later, after establishing himself in Kentucky, Sanders returned to active membership in the lodge. On October 27, 1953, he affiliated with Hugh Harris Lodge No. 938 in Corbin, Kentucky, the community closely associated with the development of his restaurant business. Records indicate that he demitted from Hugh Harris Lodge on April 13, 1976.

Sanders also became a 33° Scottish Rite Mason. His own autobiography referred to his installation as a 33° Mason in Washington, D.C., and Masonic sources identify him accordingly. His grave memorial bears the Square and Compasses along with Scottish Rite and Shrine emblems, a visible indication that his Masonic associations remained important to his public identity.

He was also a Noble of Oleika Shriners in Lexington, Kentucky. Shriners International identifies Sanders as a devoted member of Oleika and notes his more than three decades of Masonic involvement. 

Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas entered Freemasonry considerably later, but his Masonic career is exceptionally well documented. He became a member of Sol. D. Bayless Lodge No. 359 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Thomas was initiated April 13, 1959, passed April 20, and raised a Master Mason on May 25, 1959.

His involvement soon expanded into the Scottish Rite. On November 16, 1961, Thomas became a 32° Scottish Rite Mason through the Scottish Rite Bodies of Fort Wayne in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. After later relocating, he affiliated with the Miami, Florida, Scottish Rite Bodies on December 18, 1991. He received the rank and decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour in 1993, was coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1995, and in 1997 was elected to the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour, one of the Scottish Rite’s most distinguished honors.

Thomas was also a Shriner. Shriners International specifically identifies both Thomas and Sanders as Freemasons and Shriners, although the available authoritative sources do not clearly identify Thomas’s particular Shrine temple. 

From KFC to Wendy’s

The connection between Sanders and Thomas began in the restaurant business.

Before Wendy’s existed, Thomas worked for the Clauss family’s Hobby House restaurant operation in Fort Wayne. When Sanders was attempting to expand Kentucky Fried Chicken through franchising, the Clauss organization became involved with KFC. Thomas subsequently worked to improve KFC operations and helped develop ideas to strengthen the growing brand.

Among the changes associated with Thomas was an effort to simplify KFC’s menu so the company could concentrate on its signature fried chicken. He also encouraged Sanders to capitalize on his distinctive personality and appearance in advertising—a decision that helped transform the Colonel himself into one of the most recognizable corporate spokesmen in American history. Thomas was eventually sent to Columbus, Ohio, to turn around four struggling KFC restaurants. He succeeded, later sold his interest in the restaurants, and used the experience and financial foundation he gained from KFC as part of the path toward opening the first Wendy’s in Columbus in 1969. 

Their relationship, however, was not merely a connection reconstructed years later by Masonic historians.

At the Scottish Rite’s 1997 Biennial Session, Thomas appeared as the keynote speaker. The official account introduced him as Dave Thomas, 33°, Grand Cross, founder and senior chairman of Wendy’s International. During his remarks, Thomas reflected on his decades in Masonry and specifically discussed his friendship with fellow fast-food entrepreneur Colonel Sanders, 33°. He even remembered Sanders as a man who proudly wore a large Masonic ring.

That contemporary Scottish Rite account provides particularly strong evidence that Thomas himself regarded Sanders as both a friend and a fellow Mason.

A Brotherhood Beyond Business

There is a tempting story to tell that Sanders brought Thomas into Freemasonry or that their Masonic brotherhood was responsible for their business relationship. The surviving evidence does not establish that. Thomas became a Mason in 1959 while already involved in the restaurant industry, but no reliable record found so far states that Sanders sponsored, recruited, or recommended him for membership.

What can be said with confidence is more interesting because it does not require speculation: the two men knew one another professionally, became friends, and shared substantial Masonic involvement. Both became 33° Scottish Rite Masons. Both became Shriners. Thomas publicly acknowledged Sanders as a fellow Mason decades after their early business association, and Shriners International today describes the relationship as extending beyond simple mentorship. 

Their lives also shared a strong charitable dimension. Sanders supported hospitals and charitable causes, while Thomas became one of America’s most prominent advocates for foster-care adoption, establishing the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Thomas’s Scottish Rite writings show that family and helping children occupied an especially important place in his later life. 

The story of Colonel Sanders and Dave Thomas is therefore more than an interesting footnote in fast-food history. These two enormously successful entrepreneurs were connected through business, friendship, philanthropy, and Freemasonry. Sanders helped build the industry in which Thomas learned some of his most important lessons, and Thomas later became an industry giant in his own right. Years afterward, when speaking before his Masonic brethren, Thomas still remembered Colonel Sanders not simply as the founder of KFC, but as a friend and fellow 33° Mason.

That may be the clearest description of their relationship: two restaurant pioneers, two philanthropists, and two Masonic Brothers whose paths crossed long before either man’s legacy was complete.

References

Al Chymia Shrine. (n.d.). Famous Shriners. https://alchymiashrine.org/famous-shriners/

Berger, Z. (2021, February 17). The lasting legacy of entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Freemason, Dave Thomas. Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio. https://www.freemason.com/legacy-dave-thomas/

Boettjer, J. W. (1998, January). The 1997 biennial session. Scottish Rite Journal. https://srjarchives.tripod.com/1998-01/Boettjer.htm

Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. (2004, April 29). Colonel Harland Sanders. https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/sanders_h/sanders_h.html

Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio. (2022, July 13). Colonel Harland David Sanders. https://www.freemason.com/colonel-sanders/

Shriners International. (2026, June 25). 29 notables throughout history who were proud to be Shriners. https://www.shrinersinternational.org/en/news-and-events/news/2026/06/29-notables-throughout-history-who-were-proud-to-be-shriners

Thomas, D. (1998, November). Family comes first. Scottish Rite Journal. https://srjarchives.tripod.com/1998-11/THOMAS.HTM