A few months ago, while driving on Highway 63 near Ottumwa, Iowa, we spotted a small “Historical Marker” sign on the side of the road. Curiosity got the best of us and we turned around to see what was “Historical” in the middle of Nowhere, Iowa. What we found was a single tombstone for Curtis King.

Curtis King joined the Union Army at the astonishing age of 80! To put this into perspective, King was born in Virginia during the Revolutionary War. He was turned down a couple times but eventually was accepted into what was known as the Graybeard Regiment, comprised only of men over 45. King was the oldest by a wide margin, however, his superiors found him to be as hardy and energetic as men less than half his age.

Curtis came from a strong bloodline. He was a direct descendent of Pocahontas on his mother’s side. His paternal grandfather was supposedly 6 1/2ft tall and lived to be 115. Records show his mother lived to the age of 103. He was illiterate but had a terrific memory. He claimed he could recite the Bible from beginning to end with only prompting from his daughter while she read along. King also fathered 21 children, and the youngest was only 15 months old at his death.

In honor of King’s service to our nation, the Curtis King is a blend of smooth, full city roasted Ethiopian beans blended with bold, sweet, French roasted Sumatran beans.