From hand-cut fries to workplace romance, employees of 'McDonald's No. 1' have fond memories

CHICAGO - Some of Bob Skaleski's fondest teenage memories are centered around a Des Plaines restaurant with gleaming arches that would later become one of the world's most recognizable trademarks.

Skaleski, 75, was one of the earliest employees of McDonald's No. 1, the first restaurant run by Ray Kroc, who would eventually serve as CEO and chairman of the fast-food empire.

The Des Plaines restaurant, opened in 1955, was demolished after Ray Kroc's death in 1984. That move drew so much ire from history-minded locals that a museum was put in its place, a replica of the original Lee Street restaurant. The museum was torn down last month, with a smaller but no less fierce outcry from devotees who saw the building as a symbol of a golden age gone by, a time when you could leave your bike unlocked while peeling