Month: March 2026

Ray Kroc was 52 when he masterminded the McDonald’s franchise. Born in 1902, he spent 17 years selling paper cups and another 17 peddling the Multimixer which made 5 milkshakes at once. Brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald, who owned hamburger joints in CA and AZ, bought ten. Kroc suggested they franchise their operation and volunteered to manage it. Seven years later, he bought them out. Sales soared. Today’s global total is estimated at over 400 billion, with 75 burgers sold per second. Kroc remained involved in McDonald’s until his death in 1984. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Entrepreneurship is not reserved for the young; Ray Croc masterminded McDonald’s at age 52

Toto the dog was 5 years old when The Wizard of Oz was released in 1939. She was played by a female Cairn Terrier whose original name was Terry but was changed to Toto three years later. She did her own stunts and when a Winkie guard accidentally stepped on her paw, she recuperated at Judy Garland’s house. Garland became attached to her and offered to buy the dog but the owner refused to sell it. Toto’s salary of $125 per week was reportedly more than the Munchkins were paid. Before her death at age 11, Toto made 23 films. Read Who Cares? about the struggle for dignity at Woodruff Home for the Aged, “a lively place where old people go to die.” Learn more about the book and its characters, aged 9-90, in NOVELS.

Toto, age 5 when Oz movie made, lived to 11 and made 23 films

Woodruff Home for the Aged, a lively place where old people go to die