Editing Kentucky Colonel (section)

=== Contemporary history ===
In 1931, an article about the growing number of Kentucky colonels was published in the ''Las Vegas Age'', headlined "Thousand New Kunnels, Suh, In 25 Years Mighty Near Too Much For Kentuky, Suh".<ref>{{cite news |title=Thousand New Kunnels, Suh, In 25 Years Mighty Near Too Much For Kentuky, Suh |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86076141/1931-05-26/ed-1/seq-2/ |access-date=May 7, 2025 |work=Las Vegas Age |location=Las Vegas, Nev. |date=May 26, 1931 |pages=2 |via=Library of Congress}}</ref> Prior to 1932, only about 1,000 people had received official "Honorable" commissions as Kentucky colonels from Kentucky's governors. Governor [[Ruby Laffoon]], in office from 1931 to 1935, dramatically increased the number of colonels by issuing more than 10,000 commissions in 1933 and 1934. Among his motives was the aim to officially associate a Kentucky colonel with the Commonwealth, to tax the title of colonel, and to boost his political support. One of his most famous colonelships was granted to restaurateur [[Harland Sanders]], who was commissioned by Laffoon in 1935. 

[[File:Colonel Harland Sanders in character.jpg|thumb|right|Colonel [[Harland Sanders]] was commissioned by Governor [[Ruby Laffoon]] in 1935 and launched [[Kentucky Fried Chicken]] as a franchise chain in 1952.]]

When Governor Albert Benjamin Chandler (better known as [[Happy Chandler]]) took office in 1935, he took a very different view on the distinction of a Kentucky colonel commission and only issued about a dozen new commissions annually, on [[Kentucky Derby|Derby Day]]. Governor [[Keen Johnson]] followed Chandler's lead during his time in office from 1939 to 1943, commissioning only those individuals who were deemed to have exhibited exceptionally noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state or the nation.<ref>"You Too Can Be an Admiral", ''Youngstown Vindicator'', August 3, 1947. A-6.</ref> However, subsequent governors have typically been much more liberal in issuing Kentucky colonel commissions.<ref name="KYCOLTL">{{cite web|url=http://kycolonels.org/index.cgi?id=34|title=Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels Timeline|website=Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929034825/http://kycolonels.org/index.cgi?id=34|archive-date=September 29, 2007|access-date=September 5, 2007}}</ref>