In 2013, PADUCAH LIFE Magazine set out on a journey—a quest to discover the best hamburger joints in town. The G&O Pharmacy Grill was high on our list. As we mulled our choices for a cover, we kept coming back to the nostalgia of G&O and its Normal Rockwell-like ambiance. For the cover, we selected then Paducah Police Captain Brian Krueger and his son Keaton. We also featured grill cook and manager Susan Duncan.
“Keaton was on the verge of turning nine,” Brian recalls. “I remember many conversations with him in the mornings while waiting for the school bus to arrive in the hopes it would help him make the important transition from elementary to middle school.”
Keaton, now in the U.S. Navy, recalls being pretty amazed at all the activity surrounding the photoshoot.
“It’s a pretty special memory. I certainly cherish it. I would say it’s a staple memory with my dad in general.” Keaton also remembers Susan Duncan, the grill cook who was a Paducah legend having been a staple at Skinhead’s diner before coming to G&O. “She was so nice to me,” adds Keaton. Sadly, Paducah lost Susan to a battle with cancer less than a year after the shoot. We are proud to have highlighted her as one of Paducah’s unsung heroes.
Brian, who has since retired from the Paducah Police Department, received lots of feedback about the cover. Now, the cover brings Brian a certain sentimentality. “I’m sure many parents can appreciate reflecting on moments when a son or daughter has become their own person and starts to chase their life pursuits,” he says. “I see the original cover and immediately remember Keaton as a small boy with a good heart, that liked to laugh and be goofy. I wonder where that time went. He is now a long way from home, undertaking a critical role with a very important team. I am so proud of him, and I am eager to see how this stage of his life develops.”
