Sterling, Aug 25: After three years of crossing the state on a quest for hamburgers, Bill Bunyan tasted victory on his 65th birthday. Fifty friends and strangers gathered at a restaurant in downtown Sterling last Thursday to watch Bunyan eat a hamburger. When he bit into the burger, Bunyan, a retired teacher, had completed his effort to eat a hamburger in every one of the state's 105 counties.
Bunyan's wife, Susan, made hamburger-shaped invitations and sent them to all the friends who'd helped Bunyan eat his way across the state.
Dressed in a T-shirt decorated with a picture of Wimpy — the character from the Popeye cartoon known for his appetite for burgers — Bunyan told the crowd how he had achieved his goal. He started in June 2000 and aimed for 35 burgers a year. Bunyan marked off several counties the first year by stopping along the route from Dodge City to Lawrence.
He would stop for a burger anytime he and his wife took a trip. Sometimes, they'd drive out of the way to get to a county he hadn't visited. Bunyan has a photo album filled with pictures of himself standing in front of almost every burger joint he tried along the way.
Although Bunyan enjoyed the journey, he's glad it's over.
And so is his doctor, who's treating Bunyan for high cholesterol. Bureau Report