This morning was a morning of decisions. We wanted to spend time with Barb but her kids had their last day of school parties and they wouldn’t be finished until noon. We had a hard time deciding what to do until Barb was free. Our choices were going to the Federal Mint, the Coors Factory, Hammonds Candy Factory, or driving all the way to Colorado Springs (an hour away) to see the Garden of the Gods or Pikes Peak??? We wanted to tour the Federal Mint where U.S. coins are made, in downtown Denver. We missed the Mint in Philadelphia because we ran out of time, and Denver is the only other one that does tours out of the 5 producers of coins in the United States. Unfortunately we didn’t call ahead far enough in advance and there was only room for 1 person. Hmmmmm . . . we are a party of 7 . . . should we go and try to beg our way in or just let one person go on the tour? And who would be the one person? When I called, the lady was pretty firm and stoic in her decision stating that only one person could go. Bummer . . . . we decided not to have to choose between someone and just go to the Coors factory in Golden, Colorado. We missed the tour of the Anheuser Bush factory in Fort Collins and we wanted the kids to get an education on American made beer! J Actually, it just sounded like fun. The Anheuser Bush factory has the Clydesdale horses though. Bummer again . . . that would have been fun to see. The Anheuser Bush factory in Fairfield, California only has the Clydesdales once a year!!
As we drove on the freeway towards Golden, Colorado, we came to a toll booth and as we were already to give our money at the booth there was a sign that said “we will send you a bill”!! Wow, I have never seen that before . . . . that is funny! (and sure enough 2 weeks after we got home, we got a bill for $7.15 for the toll – they knew where to find us . . . a little freaky!!) We drove into the adorable town of Golden, Colorado, only to find out that the Coors factory only does tours on Fridays through Mondays, just like the Anheuser Bush. Now why didn’t it say that on the website like the Bush Factory did??? Well, at least Golden was an adorable old town and worth seeing.
So we drove off towards Denver for our only choice left, the Hammonds Candy Factory. Barb was done with school so she and the girls met us there. Hammonds Candy was started in 1920 by Carl Hammond. On his first day of high school, Carl returned home and announced that he didn’t need any more education. “Fine,” his mother replied, “but you’re not going to lie around the house. Go get a job.” And that’s just what he did; he got a job…as an apprentice in a candy factory.
In 1920, after several years of learning the candy business, and creating his first original candy, Honey Ko Kos, chocolates topped with shredded coconut, Carl T. Hammond founded Hammond’s Candy Company in Denver. In his first few years in business, Carl did it all: He developed the recipes, made the candy, sold the candy, and was his own office staff. Eventually, he hired someone to manage the store while traveled the West, selling his candy to other stores. During the Great Depression, Hammond’s went right on selling candy, because even in those extremely trying times, people could usually find enough money for the simple and sweet pleasure of candy…but if people were going to buy it, it had to be good. Carl's motto was "Nothing is more important that quality." This focus on quality kept Hammond's factory open and making a profit, throughout the entire Depression.
In the 1930s, a friend of Carl’s invented a delicious candy: A bite-sized, soft marshmallow surrounded by caramel. Carl loved the product, and purchased the recipe to produce in his factory, naming it the “Mitchell Sweet” after his friend. The Mitchell Sweet became the signature candy in and remains their famous candy today. In 1967, Carl’s son Tom continued to expand factory operations, purchasing an enrober, a machine used to coat treats in chocolate. Each of Tom’s four sons worked in the business at one time or another, but it was Robin, his only daughter, who chose the candy business as her career.
In 1995, Hammond’s evolved from a local treasure to a national name, when Williams-Sonoma placed an order for their hand-pulled lollipops, chocolate-covered toffee, and peppermint pillows. All three of these candies quickly became best-sellers at the company’s many retail locations around the country. In 1999, Hammond’s Candy was sold, and with the sale of the company came huge growth. Hammond's grew from a small factory with 10 employees, to a facility twice as large with over 60 employees. Hammond's also opened the factory to the public, offering free tours and an annual Candy Cane Festival is on the first Saturday every December. In 2007, a group of candy lovers purchased the company and in just four short years, Hammond’s doubled in size. The factory is often featured on television shows such as Food Network’s Kid in a Candy Store. Orders now come in daily from such national companies as Whole Foods, Nordstrom’s, Dean & Deluca, Cracker Barrel and hundreds of local and regional specialty shops across the world. Hammond’s world-famous candy canes can be found in Canada, England, Spain, Italy, Dubai, Kuwait, Japan, Korea, Israel, and other areas around the world. In 2010, Hammond’s purchased McCraw's Candies, maker of that famous flat taffy, which is now manufactured and shipped from Hammond's Denver factory. Hammond’s is the only completely handmade candy factory in the United States and it was amazing to watch all the hands at work, creating beautiful candy. We had a blast picking out candy from their “oops” room, where the candy was flawed in some way or they had an overabundance of a particular type of candy. I only spent $25 and got 2 huge bags full of ribbon candy and large candy canes. Hammond’s was an awesome choice for visiting today and I think the kids absolutely loved it!!
We left Denver at 4:00 and ran into probably the worst traffic of the whole trip. We really haven’t had any problems with traffic except when we were leaving New Jersey & New York and drove through Connecticut to Rhode Island. So I guess we have been really lucky and can’t complain, but this traffic was really bad. It felt like home driving from San Fran to Santa Rosa on the 101 on a Friday afternoon. We finally got to Barbs town of Littleton which has every store that you could imagine . . . major mega malls everywhere . . . reminded me of Roseville. Barbs saying is that she doesn’t need to go outside of her “5 mile radius” and she said “see what happens when I do – I get into major traffic!” Ha . . . pretty funny and sounds like a great life to me!!
On the way home we went to Littleton’s fabulous Costco and loaded up for our drive home . . . probably our last Costco run . . . Yahoo and Boohoo at the same time! We went to Starbucks and picked up our Colorado City mug . . . did I mention that we have been collecting them since Washington DC? It’s become a little bit of an obsession but exciting when we find a new one. Barb made us a lovely dinner and we had a great evening just visiting with the family! What a blessing it was to spend some time at Barb’s new home away from California!
