Never in the history of WV did a contest have such impact as the one that took place in the Spring of 1954.  It was then that Alex Schoenbaum decided that his popular new restaurants needed a new name.  His "Parkette Drive Ins" were becoming very well known locally, but the name was too generic and other drive-ins across the country were starting to use that name also.  Remember, this was the start of the Drive-In craze.  In the early 50s,  almost   anything you could drive into was tried,  including drive-in churches and even drive-in funerals.  So Alex needed a new name for his fast growing business.  The plan was to run a contest and have the public come up with ideas.  This was wildly popular, as the first prize was a brand new car.  People had NO idea of the ramifications of that contest.  They had NO idea that this little group of local restaurants would go on to become one of the largest chains in the history of food.  After all, the Parkette Drive Ins were similar to other drive ins,  like Bob Phillips for instance.  I was a little too young to know anything about the contest,  but just a couple of years later I would enjoy the results in my moms car parked at the newly named "Shoneys" on Kanawha Blvd E. (where Captain D's is today).  Growing up,  I had heard about the contest for most of my life,  and the people who mentioned it were usually finalists in it.  So I wondered... exactly who WERE the finalists?  Who won?  So now for the first time....