By Jean A. Flanagan Moorefield Examiner
With Bob Dylan and the Beatles singing ’60s music in the background, the Pilgrim’s Pride Moorefield Cook Plant celebrated the 50th anniversary of Wing Dings last Friday.
It was 1964 when Wendell “Del” Hester got the idea to market chicken wings instead of throwing them away. His idea was to cut the wings into three pieces, throw the tip away, bread and deep fry the two remaining pieces.
“I cooked the first batch,” said 80-year-old Lysle Sherman. Retirees were invited to the 50th Anniversary celebration.
“They said they were going to sell them down south,” Sherman said. “I told them there’s nothing but bones there, no one will buy them.”
Sherman had no idea the wings would be such a hit. Today, Wing Dings are the all-time, best-selling restaurant wings.
Employees on all three shifts at the Cook Plant were treated to lunch and other festivities. While employees and invited guests munched on Wing Dings, hot dogs, bratwurst and all the fixins’, a Wing Ding Eating contest was in full swing. The object was for a team of two people to eat as many Wing Dings as possible in one minute.
A commemorative t-shirt was produced and distributed to employees and guests. The design was the result of a contest. Melanie Devault, who works on 2nd shift in Human Resources, designed the winning shirt.
