For years, Victorians delighted in having their very own candy man in town that satisfied the sweet tooth of the South Texas region. Famous for its peppermint sticks and ribbon candy, H.O.
Allen Candy kept the holiday season a magical time for children young and young at heart. During Christmas time, H.O.
Allen Candy was kept busy, being the official candy maker for Santa Claus while in Victoria. During Santa’s arrival in 1954, it was reported that the local candy company produced more than 35,000 pounds of its iconic bright and colorful ribbon candy during that particular holiday season. So who was this master candy maker, the Willy Wonka of our town? It was none other than Henry Osborne Allen who was affectionately named “the Candy Man.
” But before he made his own confections, Kentucky native Allen moved to Texas in 1931 at 23-years-old, selling Life-Savers and Wrigley gum up and down Dallas and the Rio Grande Valley. Around 1939, instead of having a sales route, Allen began selling candy, gum and cigars to gas stations, restaurants and business in Victoria and surrounding counties. During World War II, Allen continued his candy route while also working at Aloe Field.
In 1948, Allen moved and expanded his warehouse just a few short blocks from where he had started his business behind the family home. “He hired a candy maker from Austin who was experienced and knew just how to make the best peppermint stick and peanut brittle one could ever hope to eat,” Elizabeth .