Byline: Jay Gearan
GARDNER - William Allen was only 3 years old back in 1955 when Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Ill.
But when the first McDonald's franchise appeared in Gardner in 1972, Mr. Allen was front and center. This fall, Mr. Allen will celebrate 35 years of continuous service with the world's most successful food service retailer.
Before the Egg McMuffin was introduced in 1973, before the Ronald McDonald House Charities began in ...