Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

I can't believe that no one recognized the card included in a Mallo Cup.

Mallo Cup was the 1st cup candy to be made in the USA!

Over 2,000,000 Cups are made in the Boyer Plant everyday , laid side by side they would cover 58 Miles!

It takes 20 TONS of that creamy Mallo Center to fill 2,000,000 MALLO CUPS!

Consumers continue to save Play Money for over 73 years. Over 5 ½% of all play money is redeemed nationwide!

The Largest Amount of Play Money redeemed by a single consumer was in 2006 a gentleman from Uniontown Ohio mailed in enough coin cards to receive a $353.00 Check! That’s 176,659 points saved (That’s a lot of candy!)

History

The Boyer Brothers started their candy business in their mother Emily’s kitchen in order to supplement the family income during the Depression Years. With brother Bill making the candy, Mom and sister Emily doing the wrapping, and brother Bob going door to door selling the brothers began what would prove to be a very successful business venture.

Initially, they made homemade fudge and nut raisin clusters. As the demand increased for Boyer Candy, so did the line of candy that they offered.

With the success of their business came the need to develop new concepts in candy.

The brothers originally tried covering marshmallows in chocolate but were unable to get the marshmallow to stiffen. Emily suggested the use of cupcake papers and the Mallo Cup became the first cup candy in America. As the years passed and the demand increased, the brothers moved the operation to an industrial facility in 1936 where the cup concept expanded with Peanut Butter Cups and Smoothie Cups.

As the popularity of the cup candy continued to grow the "Play Money" program was introduced. The consumer received a coin card ranging in value from five cents to one dollar in each candy bar This enabled the consumer to save the coins and redeem them for free candy. This program is still in effect today and encourages repeat sales and brings back wonderful nostalgic memories of childhood. Merchandise such as sweatshirts, watches, hats, tote bags and many others have been added to the list that the consumer can now trade for their coins.

In 1969 the Boyer brothers retired and sold the company to American Maize, a manufacturer of corn syrup.

Don't Try This at Home -

We Were Professionals

by Linda Kinkle Cianci

Class of '66

As I sit here snow-bound for the third time this winter, at the top of our hill in Nashville, TN, I've been reminiscing the old days in New Jersey and Huntsville. Photos remind me of the deep snows we had in New Jersey. Memories remind me of great sledding adventures in Huntsville. My sister, Janie ('71) who lives near our brother Gary ('64 ) in Florida), seems to have a much better recall than me, and as she shared her memories with me this week, we had a great time reminiscing our childhood sledding escapades. The one that always tops my list of favorites(or not) was sledding down suicide hill - Oak Park Drive - on Daddy's back. When we got to the bottom of the hill, we didn't make the turn and hit the curb, and I flew off. Back in that day, our sleds were made of wood with metal runners and had a steering mechanism. Many of today's sleds, are not really sleds at all, and don't turn, though they slide much better on snow. Just Google sleds today, and you'll see everyt hing from inflatable sleds (those won't last long) and a baby sleigh with weather shield. Baby sleigh? Are babies sledding now?

My niece, Mary Beth ('88), drove her children by suicide hill last night and pointed out a house on the corner that is in a photo she has from my Mom's collection, taken when sledding that hill around 1959/60. Mary Beth decided that suicide hill was too dangerous for their three teens (even though she had sledded it many times while growing up), and chose a hill that was only a little less intimidating near Epworth Meth. Church.

Another favorite spot closer to home on McCullough Ave. was England Street, between O'Shaughnessy and Humes Ave. Anytime snow started falling, all our family would excitedly prepare to head out as soon as the snow was deep enough, mostly at night, picking up a crew of neighbors as we started sledding, such as Jerry Brewer, Dwight Tuck and Vern and Elaine Lucas, who lived at the corner of Humes and England. What great fun we had. Funny how it seemed such a long walk back to the top of that hill back then. Gary says we also sledded Maysville Road, which would take us all the way down to Oakwood Road on a good, slick day. Of course, that was when Maysville was a two-lane road with much less traffic.

Fast forward back to today. Janie tried to give her daughter (now living in Huntsville) tips on getting around in the snow. She suggested a trip to the store to buy some chains. Chains? For tires? She gave up on trying to explain that one! Our daddy always used chains, which came in handy when driving us up to Maysville Road. Alas, on the news last night I saw a snow plow which, yes, had chains on the tires. Things from our generation are not yet extinct after all.

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Mexican Food

Craig Bannecke, Class of '65 - You have posed a good question about Mexican Food. Whenever Jennifer and I go back to Huntsville to visit family and check on her Mom I try to at least once, to eat at El Palacio's. Matter fact her family pretty much knows I like to eat there and so when we get together to go out and eat they often will suggest El Palacio's. The last time we were In Huntsville I got to thinking that I did not remember ever eating Mexican or for that matter Chinese food when I was growing up.

Matter of fact, El Palacio, is where I was first introduced to Mexican food in the early 70's by David Phillips. We use to go there for the lunch buffet special. The restaurant just celebrated it's 40th Anniversary a few years ago and hasn't changed much since I first ate there. One thing however Jennifer pointed out the last time we were there, was it appears to be the same carpet they had forty years ago. I believe she's right !

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Linda Kinkle Cianci, Class of '66 - I used to eat at El Palacio Mexican Rest. on the Parkway in the late 60s. My friend says she thinks it's still there, but after getting food poisoning at El Palacio a couple of years ago, she hasn't been back. Eating at El Palacio was my first experience with Mexican food. Wow! We would eat the chips & hot sauce, now called salsa, and tears would flow from the eyes (and nose - nose tears?). Then Mike & I moved to Denver and experienced what I'd call some "real" Mexican food. Talk about those tears - wow! Years later, when we accompanied our youngest son and church youth group on a mission trip to Piedras Negras, Mexico, we finally did have real Mexican food, prepared by the missionaries at a children's home where we were working. It was not spicy (no Old ElPaso seasoning mix for them). The sauce, which contained freshly chopped cilantro, was hot, but not unbearably. It was truly delicious. Today, my spicy foods are much less spicy, and that hot sauce is on the mild side.

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Tom Gilbert, Class of '67 - I think Taco Bell came there in 1966 it was across from Shoneys. That was my first taste of Mexican food.

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Jim Johnson - A guy by the name of "Chili" Yarbrough on Alpine Street in Huntsville Park (the area in the NW quadrant of the intersection of Triana and Drake) made them (tamales) for years and used corn husks/shucks to hold the "innards" together. He sold them predominantly to mill workers and the local citizenry for a dollar a dozen.

El Palacio is the frist Mexican restaurant I recall, but I do not recall the specific date it began operations. It was located at the SW quadrant of The Parkway and Governor's Drive. I knew the Ralph's who operated the Rebel Inn later as the Rebel Dugout.

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Lance George - The 1964 phone book has El Toro Lounge at 3413 Governors Drive with "Complete Mexican Dinners" In 1966 El Toro vanishes and El Palacio pops up at he Goldenrod Motel,where The Goldernrod Restaurant was and LaFiesta at 1309 N Pky (which was open 1 year,It was The Hickory Pit in the 67 book)".

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