Archival Anecdotes: Hamburger King Cafe

This week's feature for Archival Anecdotes might make you drool, especially considering new data just compiled by a food and cooking website known as "The Daring Kitchen." By tracking over 100,000 tweets and hashtags on the social media platform Twitter, the researcher was able to rank the top burger-loving states. The data was released on May 28, which is also known as National Hamburger Day.

North Dakota ranked number two, coming in second to West Virginia. It's an honor that may have been extended to North Dakota nearly a century ago, although there were no hashtags or tweets to prove it.

However, the Eddy County Museum does have one artifact that may attest to the love of hamburgers in New Rockford. This black and white sign reads "Hamburger King Cafe - New Rockford - 24 hours."

You read that right, once upon a time, the folks of New Rockford could venture out into the night at any hour and find a hot and tasty burger. Hamburger King opened on Central Avenue in New Rockford on June 4, 1932. The business was operated by the Tillapaugh family and endured into the 60s, leaving an undeniable imprint on the community. What do you remember?