Journal-News.com

Extras

Photos

Click to enlarge

Saf-T-Pops for children also are made at Spangler Candy Co. in Bryan, Ohio. All candy is inspected before it is wrapped.Click to view more photos

How to go

• What: Spangler Candy Co.
• Where: 400 N. Portland St., Bryan, Ohio
• Store hours: Through Labor Day, hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Trolley tours are given from noon to 4:30 p.m.
• Admission: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $3 for kids 6-17 and children younger than 5 free with paid adult
• For more information: (888) 636-4221 or www.spanglercandy.com

BRYAN — It isn't just the kids who riffle through the assortment of Dum Dums in search of their favorite flavors.

I recently stood in a line at the bank behind a nicely dressed gentleman and watched as he carefully selected a lollipop from the basket on the counter, then completed his banking transaction with a sucker stick emerging from his mouth. (Meanwhile, I had already chosen a root beer Dum Dum for myself.)

The familiar scenario has been associated with childhood for more than 100 years. What you may not know is that the famous suckers are produced at a candy factory that's open to the public in a small Ohio town only a few hours away. This one-tank trip takes you on a lovely drive through beautiful farm country in northwest Ohio.

Today, the Spangler Candy Co. in Bryan occupies a half-million square feet and produces candy that's sold across the United States and around the world. You can't miss it once you're in the neighborhood: You'll begin smelling sweet flavorings as soon as you approach the parking lot.

Prepare to sample free lollipops, taste-test new flavors, view nostalgic packaging and candy from the past, and take an entertaining trolley ride through the factory, where you'll learn about the fascinating candy-making process.

The history

Spangler remains a family business, with members of the third and fourth generation still actively involved in day-to-day operations. There are 450 employees in Bryan.

Chairman and CEO Dean Spangler grew up tagging along with his dad, making tracks in the starch when he rode his bicycle through the plant. He began cleaning out sugar tanks in high school and now sits in an office that's steps away from where his father and grandfather once sat.

It all began in 1906 when 26-year-old Arthur Spangler saved enough money from his paper route to purchase the Gold Leaf Baking Powder Co. for $450. His brothers joined him, and in 1911 the family entered the candy world by cracking fresh coconuts and turning them into coconut balls.

In the early 1950s, the second generation of Spanglers made two life-altering decisions: to purchase Dum Dum Pops and A-Z Candy Canes. These days, the company produces 2 billion pieces of candy every year and is the world's largest producer of candy canes. Turns out the Miami Valley is critical to the process: A key ingredient is corn syrup that comes in huge tanker trucks from Cargill Inc. in Dayton. Spangler is best known for its Dum Dum Pops, Circus Peanuts and Saf-T-Pops with their flexible fiber loop handles for toddlers.

Welcome to Candyland

Don a hair net, climb on the Dum Dum Trolley, and you'll spend the next 30 minutes learning all about the company and its famous treats. You'll see the candy pack-out area, where thousands of Dum Dums are tumbling down conveyor belts to be bagged. You'll see employees, many who've been there for 25 years or more, packing the lollipops for shipping. The entertaining videos shown on board will transport you to the kitchens that aren't accessible to the public because of health and safety concerns. Here candy-cooking, molding and wrapping are accomplished. Here we're talking temperatures of more than 90 degrees, 100-pound batches of sugar, giant mixing machines with side spatulas pushing and lifting and lots of conveyor belts with tons of Dum Dums flying past.

Ten million Dum Dums, 3 million candy canes and 1.5 million Saf-T-Pops are produced in Bryan every work day.

Much of what was once done by hand is now accomplished by sophisticated machinery.

"This is the most automated lollipop kitchen in the world," says Dean Spangler, showing off the machines where preprinted waxed paper wrappers enter in a continuous strip and are cut, then twisted around the candy top of the Dum Dum at a rate of 230 suckers per minute. Today, he says, there are 170 motors on a typical candy cane line.

The Spangler Store and Museum

In the museum section of the company store, you'll find displays documenting the history of the company and samples of its products through the years. A video also runs continuously.

You also can taste the most recent additions to Spangler's candy line. At the moment it's an election theme — "Pop Vote '08" — which allows you to cast your vote and help select the next two Dum Dums: options range from raspberry cream to banana split and strawberry shortcake. You also can pick up the Pop Vote assortment at retailers and cast your vote on the Web.

Though Dum Dums always come in bags of 17 assorted flavors, in Bryan you can also purchase single flavor boxes and candy in bulk. There are Dum Dum Frisbees and sweat shirts, candy gift baskets and dolls, even Dum Dum-flavored lip glosses.

Splangler's main competition is Tootsie, a company that has traditionally made filled suckers. The Splanglers are test-marketing a filled pop of their own and you can sample the new products at the Bryan shop.

Don't throw out that Dum Dum wrapper. The "Save Wraps for Stuff" lets kids redeem wrappers for prizes on the Web.

Time out for a meal

You'll have fun having lunch or dinner at one of the local spots in Bryan. We stopped at Lester's Diner (233 S. Main St.); other possibilities include Seasons Coffee & Bistro (105 S. Main St.), Myro's Pizzeria (336 W. High St.) and Mohre's Spirited Dining (139 W. Butler St.).

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2440 or mmoss@DaytonDailyNews.com.