by Paula Becker in History Link
Thanks to Bob P. who notes, “Almond Roca and Mountain Bars were two of my favorites when I was growing up in San Francisco. Now, it’s nice to discover that I’ve ended up in Seattle where those two wonderful candies originated!”
n the spring of 1923, Tacoma confectioner Harry Brown (ca. 1893-1960) creates a butter-crunch toffee enrobed in milk chocolate and then encrusted with chopped almonds. Pleased that the almond coating makes the candy less messy to consume than ordinary chocolate-coated toffee, Brown hands out samples to many Tacoma residents, including Tacoma Public Library librarian Jacqueline Noel (ca. 1881-1964). Asked what the new confection should be called, Noel dubs the candy Almond Roca.
Brown & Haley
Harry Brown was a partner in the Tacoma candy company Brown & Haley. Company lore holds that Jacqueline Noel chose the components of the candy’s name because its relatively hard crunch was somewhat rock-like. At the time, many almonds were imported from Spain and “roca” is a Spanish word for rock.
Harry L. Brown and Jonathan Clifford Haley (ca. 1885-1954) became acquainted at church in 1908. At the time, Brown owned a candy store and Haley was a sales representative for the Schilling spice company. The pair began working toward creating a business together in 1912, and incorporated the business as Oriole Candy Company, the predecessor to Brown & Haley, in 1914. Brown & Haley observes 1912 as the founding date of the company. By 1916, Brown & Haley was producing a confection called the Mount Tacoma Bar (later renamed the Mountain Bar), a log of vanilla fondant dipped in chocolate. (Fondant is a creamy candy made by cooking sugar, liquid, flavoring, and sometimes corn syrup and an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice, until it reaches 238-240 degrees Fahrenheit.) During World War I, Mount Tacoma bars and other Brown & Haley confections became popular with soldiers stationed at Camp Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord) not far from the company’s location in Tacoma.