![]() King, makers of work clothes, opened four years after Helms, in 1913. ![]() Helms III, died in September of 2020 at age 90.īuzz Helms believes his family’s candy company is the oldest manufacturing facility in Bristol. “Buzz” Helms IV, runs the company today, along with his brother Mark and sister Debby Smith. opened Bristol Wholesale Grocery, saw a need for a line of candy, and started making his own. Helms traces its origins to 1909 when Frank Helms Sr. It’s a fourth-generation family business, and the core of that business is still peppermint-flavored pure sugar stick candy. Over the years, their buildings and businesses were either acquired or abandoned.īut on the Lee Highway, on the Virginia side, Helms Candy Company is thriving, with 14 full-time employees. While the twin cities of Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia, have come to be known for racing and country music, the role of candy-making in their history should never be forgotten.Īt one time, the two Bristols were home to some 10 candy companies, all of them making versions of pure sugar stick candy. In impoverished sections of Appalachia, boxes of Red Band candy, or even just a few sticks, may have been the only presents children received for Christmas. Pure sugar stick candy brightened life in the coalfields of Southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and West Virginia. A mention of them in almost any situation elicits stories of parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and detailed memories of their candy jars. The peppermint-flavored sticks are sweet links to the past. Stacked inside are rows of pure sugar stick candy. It’s one of Appalachia’s most beloved symbols: a stark white box with a red stripe around it. His latest book is The Proffitts of Ridgewood: An Appalachian Family’s Life in Barbecue. ![]() The Greeneville, TN native is senior writer, associate professor of Appalachian Studies, and news director for WETS-FM at East Tennessee State University. Sauceman has dedicated decades of his career to sharing unique stories about Appalachian food and culture. Please welcome guest author Fred Sauceman.
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