By Kellie B. Gormly, ReMIND Magazine

“Two all-beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun.”
If you watched TV in the ’70s, you remember this catchy ad jingle on McDonald’s commercials promoting the Big Mac. This triple-decker sandwich was more than a burger, promoters said; it was a meal. They had a point: McDonald’s other burgers, and those of its competitors, may have had a meat patty, slice of cheese, ketchup and mustard. But the Big Mac had two beef patties, a bun with a mezzanine layer, some veggies, and a special sauce akin to Thousand Island salad dressing.

The Big Mac debuted at McDonald’s restaurants nationwide in 1968, but it got its grassroots start a year earlier at a McDonald’s in a small Western Pennsylvania community called Uniontown, near Pittsburgh. Owner Jim Delligatti, a Ray Kroc-era franchisee, invented the sandwich that became a signature McDonald’s icon. Delligatti, who owned several Pittsburgh-area McDonald’s franchises, died in November 2016 at the age of 98.
The iconic burger even got its own cartoon character in the cast of the playful “McDonaldland” world invented in the ’70s. Officer Big Mac, dressed like a policeman, joined mascots including Ronald McDonald, Hamburglar and the roly-poly purple guy named Grimace.

In later years, Officer Big Mac appeared at some restaurants that had adjacent “Playland” playgrounds. The character took the form of an elevated jail, where kids could climb in and hang out in the space between the two all-beef patties. Many of us have fond memories of climbing and playing in this Big Mac structure.

The Big Mac even inspired an eponymous economic measurement known as the Big Mac index, which measures the purchasing power of countries worldwide based on the cost of the burger.

Today, millions of people enjoy eating the Big Mac, often with a side of fries and a soda. And in Western Pennsylvania, nostalgia buffs like ReMIND readers can eat their meal surrounded by McDonald’s memorabilia at one special Mickey D’s. The Big Mac Museum Restaurant — located in North Huntingdon, just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike — features several transparent cases filled with retro McDonald’s items placed throughout the dining area.

Those of us who had McDonald’s jobs as teenagers will feel déjàvu when seeing the vintage Big Mac toaster, which debuted in 1970 and was retired in 1997. We placed each piece of the bun on the triple-layered machine, then pulled down a lever to toast the bread.

The museum’s cases, containing a rotating array of trinkets and other memorabilia, also have items like the Big Mac purse, a ceramic Big Mac, a row of Big Mac wrappers and boxes used over the years, plus drinking glasses with McDonaldland characters. Written information about the history of the Big Mac is displayed on a wall and tucked under transparent table covers.

While you enjoy your Big Mac at this nostalgic Pennsylvania restaurant, you can watch videos on several overhanging TV screens that show the jingle commercials over the decades and images of the smiling man who started this food phenomenon.

Brought to you by the publishers of ReMIND magazine, a monthly magazine filled with over 95 puzzles, retro features, trivia and comics. Get ReMIND magazine at 70% off the cover price, call 1-855-322-8784or visit remindmagazine.com.