Stroll under the “Howdy Folks” arch along Washington Avenue in Golden and you’re standing where one of the most famous candies in America got its start.

Bill and Dorothy Harmsen moved to Colorado from Minnesota in 1942. They settled on an old farm about six miles east of Golden, and with entrepreneurial aspirations, embarked on starting a local business.

On May 28, 1949, they opened the Jolly Rancher Ice Cream Store at 1113 Washington Avenue, right at the arch. The name was meant to sound like a friendly Western company.

Finding out (the hard way) that ice cream was difficult to sell in the colder months, the Harmsen’s made a pivot out of necessity, and started stocking bulk and boxed chocolate from a local candy maker to tide them over through the cold months. Possibly to their surprise, this new line of business did well. So they started making their own candy.

The breakout hit was a five-cent stick of hot cinnamon taffy called the Fire Stix. It sold so well that the side experiment became the engine of the business.

The ranch becomes a factory

By 1951, just two years in, the Harmsens had sold the Golden shop. Rather than go looking for a new storefront, they went home, to the ranch east of Golden along Ward Road.

Home had a big barn. They pulled the stalls out, hired a candy maker, and within a few months had a full-scale candy operation running where the horses used to stand. They gave the place a new name to match: Sugar Bar Ranch.

Then it just kept growing. Fruit flavors followed the cinnamon: watermelon and apple first, then the rest of the lineup you remember from the bottom of your Halloween bag. Franchise stores opened across Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. The plant was remodeled and expanded, again and again, until the farm on Ward Road was a full-fledged factory.

The workers were called Candy Cowboys and Candy Cowgirls and they were proud of their product. The company motto: "Jolly Rancher is the only candy guaranteed to be positively superior to any other you have ever eaten!"

Bold. But backed up at the time by customer demand.

By 1966, the barn that started with a few horse stalls had about 250 employees working two shifts and turning out nearly 125,000 pounds of candy a day. That year the Harmsens merged the company with Beatrice Foods of Chicago. Bill stayed on as president until 1977. It later passed to Leaf Brands, then to Hershey in the '90s.

In 2002, the plant closed for good and production left Colorado.

While the candy isn't made here anymore, the story stayed.

In 2021 the Harmsens' grandson donated a trove of company artifacts to the Golden History Museum: early packaging, signs, chocolate molds, and copies of the company newsletter Dorothy edited herself. The museum's curator said it would be "the finest collection of Jolly Rancher history anywhere."

So this Halloween, when you're picking through the bowl for the watermelon ones, remember where they came from. Right here in Golden.

SUNRISE: 7:02 AM
SUNSET: 6:35 PM
FORECAST: Lots of sun, high 70s all week
BEST DAY TO GET OUTSIDE: Monday. Cooler temps, and some clouds

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White Ranch, Golden- JeffCo MTB Club Group Ride, 5pm. Saddle up

Foothills Art Center, Golden- Exploring the Elements of Art, 5:30PM. Art school

Green Mountain Brewery, Lakewood- Weekly Run Club, 6pm. Run, then beers

New Terrain Brewing, Golden- Mondraker bike demo day, 3PM. Test ride

Beck Venture Center, Golden- Startup Forum on startups, capital and the nuclear renaissance, 3:30PM. Go nuclear

Golden History Museum, Golden- Native Veterans lecture with Steven LaPointe, 6PM. Listen up

Miners Saloon, Golden- Live music Wednesdays, 6-9pm.

Snowpack Taproom, Conifer- Open bluegrass jam, 6:30PM. Pick along

Twin Forks Tavern, Morrison- Wellington Wednesday. Yummy

Foothills Art Center, Golden- Artist talk with Richard Luckin, 11AM. Good Photos

Barrels & Bottles, Golden- Krispy King Lager Competition & Festival with A-Mac, 3:30PM. Stay krispy

New Terrain Brewing, Golden- Music by the Mesa: Tumble Down Shack plays the Dead, 6PM. Truckin'

BP Run Co, Wheat Ridge- Wild Jackalopes social 5K, 6PM. Hop to it

Rowdy Ryder Academy, Arvada- Women's Red Bull Rampage watch party w/ Girls, Gears, and Beers, 6:30PM. Send it

Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, Golden- Good Night, Oscar, Thursday through Sunday. Curtain up

Chatfield Farms, Littleton- Pumpkin Festival, Friday through Sunday, 9AM-4PM. Gourd times

Dinosaur Ridge, Morrison- TriceraTOTs preschool craft and story time, 9AM and 10AM. Tiny roars

Cheese Ranch Artisan Deli, Golden- Fondue Friday, 5pm. Yummy

Evergreen- Dakota Blonde house concert benefiting Alpine Rescue Team, 6PM. Good cause

Center Stage, Evergreen- Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors opens, 7:30PM. Fangs a lot

Buchanan Park, Evergreen- Nightmare at 1520 Haunted house. Scream

Buffalo Rose, Golden- Powder7 Presents: Norse & Gnar Ski Season Kickoff, 6PM. Shred

Snowpack Taproom, Conifer- Saturday morning yoga, 10AM. Stretch

Stay Golden Mercantile, Golden- Grand opening with face painting, hair tinsel and raffles, 10AM-7PM. Stay golden

Foothill Art Center, Golden- Price & Sell Your Art with ease workshop, 10-11:30AM. Details

Evergreen Lake, Evergreen- Witches & Warlocks on the Lake, 10AM-1PM. Paddle

Buchanan Park, Evergreen- Nightmare at 1520 Haunted house. Scream

Golden City Brewery, Golden- 30th annual ChiliFest, 12PM start. Spice up

Slaymaker Cellars, Idaho Springs- Meadery tour and barrel tasting, 3PM. Mead up

Downtown Evergreen- Second Saturday "Spooky Sips," costumes encouraged, 4PM. Sip & stroll

Center for the Arts, Evergreen- Clay Date wheel throwing, 6PM. Get muddy

Buffalo Rose, Golden- That Eighties Band, 8PM. Don't stop

The Golden Mill, Golden- Country music from Golden's own Jeff Goodwin, 3PM. Yeehaw

Mountain Toad Brewing, Golden- Board Game Night, 5pm-close. Have fun

Golden Game Guild, Golden- Teach Me to Play Mondays, 6-9pm. Learn new games

New Terrain Brewing, Golden- Yoga on Tap, 6PM. Namaste

Buffalo Rose, Golden- “The Way Out” 2026 Ski Film, 7PM & 9:30PM. Tickets

Posing on top of Lookout Mountain with Golden below, ~1955

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