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Manchester’s World-Famous Chicken Broil is entering its 73rd year of community bonding and great food! But many may not know the storied history of how the beloved Chicken Broil came to be.
The first Chicken Broil was put on by one of Manchester’s many service clubs active in the 1950s, The Exchange Club. With businessmen, poultry farmers, and feed mill operators, planning for the event began in 1953. Dr. Howard Zindell of Michigan State College’s (now University) Poultry Division created a new method of cooking chicken alongside J.M. “Mac” Moore and Harry Hathaway of the same division. This method is the charcoal-barbecuing method we have come to know and love. The Exchange Club ran trials in different neighborhoods to determine the best ways to arrange grills and serve larger groups of people. It was during these trials that The Exchange Club came to the conclusion that these barbecues had the potential to become fundraisers.
The first community-wide Chicken Broil took place on August 12, 1954 at the Athletic Field, now known as the Alumni Memorial Field. It was sponsored by both The Exchange Club and the Jaycees of Manchester, the city’s equivalent of a Junior Chamber of Commerce. Renowned author Franklin “Frank” Reck published an article in Town Journal that recounted its success, from the perfect weather to the contents of the meals and the roles of volunteers. The first Broil only seated 400 people yet served nearly 2,000 people! The meal looked different too. Instead of radishes, the Broil instead served celery, carrots, and green onions alongside the chicken halves, potato chips, coleslaw and rolls. The Jaycees manned the drink and desserts table, and after the meal there was a softball exhibition match. While men did all of the cooking and serving, the women that volunteered worked behind the scenes, selling tickets and running errands to keep everything moving. The Exchange Club advertised the Chicken Broil as a well-deserved break for mom, to give her a break from the chore of cooking dinner…