Bill harmsen biography

Bill Harmsen was one of the creators of the Jolly Rancher brand of hard candies.
Bill Harmsen was one of the creators of the Jolly Rancher brand of hard candies.
Harmsen was born June 20, 1912, in St. Paul.

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Bill Harmsen was an American businessman, candy maker, and co-founder, with his wife Dorothy, of the Jolly Rancher Candy Company.

When Bill and Dorothy Harmsen failed to find great success farming their land, the young couple established an ice cream shop. Before long, they added homemade chocolates, jelly beans, fruit chews, and lollipops. But is was their familiar rectangular hard candy, the Jolly Rancher, that brought them fame in the candy world. Fire Stix was another of their more popular candy products. In the early days, Bill Harmsen was frequently out on the road marketing their candy, so it often fell to Dorothy to manage Jolly Rancher operations in Colorado. The company he founded in 1949, was sold to Beatrice Foods in 1967, though Harmsen stayed on as president until 1977. The Hershey Company, purchased Jolly Rancher in 1996. Over time, the fruit-flavored Jolly Rancher candies became a favorite around the world.

He was also a generous philanthropist who donated much of the land that became Golden Gate Canyon State Park in Colorado. Harmsen and his wife were also

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Jolly Rancher: Colorado’s favorite candy maker

A number of candy companies have called Colorado home over the years. There was Brecht Candy Company (long-gone), and the likes of Hammond’s and Enstrom Candies that still satisfy folks today. But the most famous has to be Jolly Rancher Candies, even though it’s no longer made here in Golden, Colorado.

Before Jolly Rancher

Dorothy and Bill Harmsen moved to Colorado from Minnesota in 1942. Bill was a pilot for Continental Airlines, but he dreamed of owning his own business. The couple bought the old Johnston farm in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, about six miles east of Golden. Dorothy entered the fruit and flower business, growing gladiolas, peonies, raspberries, and strawberries, which she delivered to Denver. Later, the Harmsens also set up a woodworking shop in their barn, where they made doll beds and cocktail trays. And then they tried their hand at ice cream.

It all started in Golden

Bill and Dorothy Harmsen serving ice cream at their very first store in Golden, Colorado. Photo: Golden History Museum & P

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Bill Harmsen, 89; Jolly Rancher Candy Firm’s Founder

Bill Harmsen, 89, who with his wife started the Jolly Rancher Candy Co., died of prostate cancer Wednesday in Wheat Ridge, Colo.

Jolly Ranchers, the hard candies in flavors such as cinnamon and watermelon that are sold around the world, were created by Harmsen and his wife, Dorothy, on the family farm in Golden, Colo.

Harmsen was a retired Continental Airlines pilot when he opened an ice cream shop in Golden in 1949 and concocted the candy to keep money coming in during the winter months.

The candy factory, housed in a deep-red barn, became a popular tourist attraction, drawing 2 million visitors a year.

The company was sold to Beatrice Foods Co. in 1967, and Harmsen stayed on as president until 1977.

The company is now owned by Hershey Foods Corp., which bought it in 1997 and recently announced that it would close the Jolly Rancher factory and shift production to Pennsylvania.

Harmsen and his wife were avid Western art collectors. Last year, they donated their 3,500-piece collection, which includes notable paintings by s