BOISE Idaho Area McDonald's units here reportedly gave away French fries on Monday to honor the memory of J.R. Simplot, whose company developed the frozen fry. Simplot died last week at age 99.
The business Simplot founded, J.R. Simplot Co., has been supplying frozen fries to McDonald's since 1967, when he made a handshake deal with Ray Kroc. J.R. Simplot Co. is based in Boise.
The McDonald's units that participated in the tribute to Simplot were in Canyon and Ada counties. The restaurants gave away free small orders of fries with any purchase between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Monday.
"He was an amazing man, and we wanted to recognize him through this offer to our customers," Becky Alexander, a McDonald's spokeswoman in Boise, told the Idaho Statesman newspaper.