Mon Jul 21, 2014 3:27 pm
#85850
It just so happens I live right near the factory where the classic Pez candy is made. I'll take you on a visual tour of my recent visit (click any photo to enlarge).
They have a visitor center there, which you can tour to learn the history of Pez and see many display cases that house just about every Pez dispenser ever made.
They also have the worlds largest Pez dispenser and a custom motorcycle (made by O.C.C. of the show American Choppers).
You can peek onto the factory floor, sample some freshly created sweets, and buy souvenirs and candy of course.
Naturally, I was most interested in their Halloween stuff.
This Witch was the first Halloween design Pez released. Here's a vintage one from the 1950s along with a store window sign. Great piece of history.
A whole coven of Halloween Witches, which looked the same for several decades (the most recent witches are on the bottom left of this photo).
A few of the classic Universal Monsters got the Pez dispenser treatment in the 1960s. Frankenstein, Wolfman and Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Creature mold was reused in the mid 70s and called "Fishman."
Fishman was part of this "Mr. Ugly and his New Friends" series. A mix of creatures including their classic witch and skull. I had that skull! I wonder if I can find it.
These soft head monsters are known as "Eerie Spectres." From the late 70s, I believe. The one on the far left is the only Pez figure of a "zombie."
Nearly three decades after first introducing the Halloween witch, Pez finally made pumpkins! Here's their full lineup of Jack-O-Lantern Pez dispensers, first introduced in 1981.
"Naughty Neil" and "Slimy Sid" ghosts from the 1990s, as well as more recent ghosts and vampires (on the left) introduced in the past few years.
More icons of Halloween - the Cat, Bat and Mummy - haven't seen multiple versions like the witch and pumpkin. But they did finally appear in the 2000s. I know the Bat is still available these days.
They had many vintage ads on display. Really cool to look at. A sign (no pun intended) of their times.
Of course I had to leave with a couple Halloween Pez dispensers. I picked the jack-o-lantern (big surprise!) which has a glow-in-the-dark body. And with a classic orange body, that ghost was too cute to pass up.
I also bought a small bucket of Pez candy. You can fill the bucket with any flavors you want, so I picked all the sour ones. So good. Word of warning, if you eat enough of them, all the combined food dye colors will turn your tongue black. Although, that's a good Halloween color too.
They have a visitor center there, which you can tour to learn the history of Pez and see many display cases that house just about every Pez dispenser ever made.
They also have the worlds largest Pez dispenser and a custom motorcycle (made by O.C.C. of the show American Choppers).
You can peek onto the factory floor, sample some freshly created sweets, and buy souvenirs and candy of course.
Naturally, I was most interested in their Halloween stuff.
This Witch was the first Halloween design Pez released. Here's a vintage one from the 1950s along with a store window sign. Great piece of history.
A whole coven of Halloween Witches, which looked the same for several decades (the most recent witches are on the bottom left of this photo).
A few of the classic Universal Monsters got the Pez dispenser treatment in the 1960s. Frankenstein, Wolfman and Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Creature mold was reused in the mid 70s and called "Fishman."
Fishman was part of this "Mr. Ugly and his New Friends" series. A mix of creatures including their classic witch and skull. I had that skull! I wonder if I can find it.
These soft head monsters are known as "Eerie Spectres." From the late 70s, I believe. The one on the far left is the only Pez figure of a "zombie."
Nearly three decades after first introducing the Halloween witch, Pez finally made pumpkins! Here's their full lineup of Jack-O-Lantern Pez dispensers, first introduced in 1981.
"Naughty Neil" and "Slimy Sid" ghosts from the 1990s, as well as more recent ghosts and vampires (on the left) introduced in the past few years.
More icons of Halloween - the Cat, Bat and Mummy - haven't seen multiple versions like the witch and pumpkin. But they did finally appear in the 2000s. I know the Bat is still available these days.
They had many vintage ads on display. Really cool to look at. A sign (no pun intended) of their times.
Of course I had to leave with a couple Halloween Pez dispensers. I picked the jack-o-lantern (big surprise!) which has a glow-in-the-dark body. And with a classic orange body, that ghost was too cute to pass up.
I also bought a small bucket of Pez candy. You can fill the bucket with any flavors you want, so I picked all the sour ones. So good. Word of warning, if you eat enough of them, all the combined food dye colors will turn your tongue black. Although, that's a good Halloween color too.