Colonel of Truth
To Andrew B. Pacelli ’04, Colonel Sanders means more than fried chicken. He is a patriot, philanthropist and—most of all—honorary kinsman. That’s because Pacelli is a colonel himself.
Pacelli and the late Sanders are members of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, a philanthropic group commissioned by the governor of Kentucky. You don’t have to know how to hold a gun—Sanders himself never spent a day in the military. “[Sanders is] as much a colonel as I am,” Pacelli says. Moreover, you don’t even have to be from Kentucky, although it helps to know the governor.
Pacelli, who is also a Crimson editor, has always considered himself a Kentuckian by blood, although he hails from Illinois: his favorite pastimes are horse racing, gambling, bluegrass music and bourbon. When he learned his uncle was a friend of the Kentucky governor, he couldn’t resist making a small request. Soon enough, he was officially nominated and given a lifetime commission, which comes with a certificate bearing the governor’s seal, an entitlement to official deference in the state of Kentucky and a brass membership card.
Two hundred years ago, being appointed a Kentucky Colonel would have put Pacelli at the head of the state militia. The appointments became honorary in 1885, after the militia was disbanded, but even honorary colonels are charged with a formidable task. Former Kentucky Gov. Flem D. Sampson, a legend in colonel history, pronounced the group in 1931 “a great non-political brotherhood for the advancement of Kentucky and Kentuckians.” Seventy years later, Pacelli is proud to serve the same lofty ideal, determined to meet the high standards of his office and “throw the most extravagant Kentucky Derby party at Harvard.”
He began this annual tradition last year, conducting a semi-formal affair in his spacious Eliot suite, complete with television stream of the Derby, mint julep and one Kentuckian. The Derby was “the focal point” of the party, but the sweet bourbon drink was vital for the affair’s authenticity. It is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby and, adds Pacelli with aplomb, “all Kentucky Colonels.” Pacelli himself appeared at the party in full uniform.
As if Sanders didn’t lend Pacelli’s title enough prestige, the young Colonel can also count among his honorary peers Colonel Fred Astaire and Colonel John Paul II. Both are celebrated figures in colonel lore—Astaire for helping relieve the effects of the Flood of 1937 with a fund-raising show, and the Pope for “mentioning the Colonels to the Heavenly Father.” The colonels’ website, www.kycolonels.org, is also a one-stop shop for colonel merchandise, from official golf towels and “Taste of Kentucky” food baskets in the shape of Kentucky, to the autobiography of Maker’s Mark, “the world’s premier bourbon,” and all manner of “sipping tools,” from jiggers to julep glasses to flasks for the road.
The bourbon and the Derby parties are all part of the grander vision of the Colonels—a bond of brotherhood and patriotic commitment to service—which Pacelli takes seriously. “I am under the impression that if anyone insults the governor’s honor, I’m supposed to challenge that person to a duel. Every now and then people do challenge the governor, and I hold them to it. I point my finger at them and say, ‘Sir, how dare you insult the governor of Kentucky! I shall defend him to the death.’”