4 if mmZ : - v u Halloween favorites have their origins on Johnson City's Kits and B-B-Bats will end up in Halloween bags tonight. 1 T t '.:'.:: J 1 The making of 8-B-8ats and Kits is based on gravity. Ingredients start on the fourth floor. They include cornstarch, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, coconut oil, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, corn syrup and corn flour. Ingredients are stored in bags, bins and large drums. Approximately 120,000 lbs. of corn sp syrip is siorea in a large arum (). n is isssl released through a pipe lo the third floor. The crusher (B) and released as needed. SUGAR i -s FLOUR i MOLASSES i Once the ingredients reach the third floor they are released into cooking vats (C). Additional ingredients such as salt, coloring, flour and cornstarch are weighed out (D) and added to the vats. After reaching a temperature of approximately 260 F, the hot liquid is released to the second floor. - ir: rf&sL 11 11 11 I n . x On the second floor, the hot liquid flows downward from tubes (E) in the ceiling onto large tables. It flows through a mesh screen at the end of the tube to filter out any large particles. A sensor in the tubes activates the cooling pipes under the table to cool the hot liquid when it hits the tables. (F) Once cooled fo 140 F, the candy is cut into three large pieces, folded and sent down a chute (G) to the first floor where t will be processed into candy form. ; , f m v y f-f UUJJr-Tyi-- i C--i "i :-&v:-:-:W: H k r:,:. (hi Hi r-ry-i 1 ik Ji i L M6i ;..,Uf'ii P4 The large, rubbery chunks are now put on the puller machine (H) which folds the candy into a stiff consistency. The flavoring is added at this stage. It is poured slowly to ensure even coverage. After 10 to 20 minutes, it's pulled off in large portions and wheeled to the hansella (I) which forms the ropes of candy. The Ideal machine cuts and wraps the candy, and adds sticks to Ihe B-B- Bats. II forms and ' wraps Kits (J). It will handle 250 B-B-Bats per minute or 450 Kits per minute. The candy and boxes are put through a metal detector before being boxed and shipped. They are then bagged, boxed or put In plastic jars to be shipped to wholesalers, some supermarkets or rebaggers. Frank Teribury, right,, pulls candy off a machine at Fair Play Caramels Inc. in Johnson City Illustrations by Phyllis Kloda Photos by Tara McParland 4 t f V . . V. t x : - .' i . ' , B-B-Bats, Kits are still hits for Fair Play Caramels By LINDA GONZALEZ Staff Writer Spiedies aren't the only local claim to food fame. Don't forget B-B-Bats and Kits. Johnson City has the distinction of being home to these sugary confections that used to be pulled out of penny candy glass containers at corner groceries. These days the candy treats hide behind a nickel price tag when sold individually. But, they are still around and as likely to end up in a Halloween bag as any other candy. B-B-Bats, the old-fashioned taffy on a stick, and Kits, bite-sized pieces of taffy, are made at Fair Play Caramels Inc., Grand Avenue and Willow Street, Johnson City. The factory has been churning out these strawberry, banana, chocolate, vanilla and molasses peanut butter Halloween favorites and shipping them throughout the United States since 1924. "Kits were made prior to World War II," said Allen Williams Jr., co-owner of Fair Play Caramels. Williams represents the third generation of the Williams family to co-own the business. "During the war we had a contract with the government. They (Kits) were in C rations. The B-B-Bats came out earlier, too, but were suspended because of the war probably because of sugar rationing." Williams couldn't say where the name for Kits was born, but B-B-Bats stands for "Bigger and Better Bats." The "Bats" are baseball bats and on each wrapper is a tiny figure of a baseball player. The Candy has always been popular, said co-owner Olin B. Fellows III, who represents the fourth generation of the Fellows family to co-own Fair Play Caramels. "With the B-B-Bat, it's a piece of candy that lasts awhile. You get your money's worth," Fellows said. "This isn't candy that you pop in your mouth and it's gone." Following World War II, B-B-Bats and Kits were at their peak and so was the factory. Fair Play Caramels employed 150 people and made about 40,000 pounds of candy per day. Today, the company employs about 30 people and manufactures 3,500 to 4,000 pounds a day, Fellows said. "We're one of the few small family candy manufacturers left, and we want to keep it that way," he said. Fellows and Williams' grandfathers bought the business in 1923 when it was named the E.F. Hopton Candy Co. The name was changed to Ideal Candy Co. after the Ideal Caramel Wrapping Machine Inc., which sold machines that wrapped caramels and bouillon cubes and was owned by Fellows' great-grandfather. In 1924 the name was changed to Fair Play Caramels. "The name goes back to the early days of the E.J. shoe company," Williams said. "This area was known as the Fair Play Valley because of the reputation of E.J. At the time we were surrounded by E.J. buildings." There was a time when Fair Play manufactured a larger variety of candy, but market and demand changed and gradually most were discontinued. B-B-Bats and Kits survived because of their popularity. "We also make a caramel pop, which is a hard caramel on a stick," Williams said. That candy does not sell as well as the two mainstays but is still in production, he said. The factory has four floors of machinery, tables, conveyor pipes and big round containers in which to blend, stir, cut, pull, size, wrap and box candy. Sometimes Fair Play only makes B-B-Bats in banana and strawberry. Other days, it makes batches of chocolate and molasses peanut butter. If the demand for Kits is greater, then only Kits are made. On the top floor stands a two-ton tank full of corn syrup and smaller containers holding sugar, corn starch, molasses, coconut oil, cocoa powder and yellow corn flour. Pipes to transfer the syrup stretch from the bottom of the large tank to the floor below. On that floor, employee Gene Van Dusen, whose shift begins at 5 a.m., stands ready to weigh and add other liquid ingredients. After the ingredients are added, Van Dusen starts the large mixing kettles, and bubbling yellow and pink gooey substances appear from the raw materials. He sends his concoction to the floor below through more pipes. The liquid mixture lands on tables that look like big cookie sheets. Once it hardens, employee Philip Jones chops the candy into three pieces and sends it to the first floor taffy-pulling machines. Once you see the hardened mixture becoming soft and pliable on the pullers, you know you're looking at taffy. Then it's on to a machine that takes a big lump of taffy and whirls it around until it comes out looking like a long snake. Another machine squeezes the candy to a rectangular shape, cuts it into a B-B-Bat's exact size and shape, wraps it and adds a stick. . Every batch of candy spends about 20 minutes on each floor. At this time of the year, once the candy is wrapped and boxed, it is passed through a metal detector and shipped. The factory starts preparing for the Halloween season in June and still the orders are backlogged, Fellows said. The finished product is sent to candy distributors who in turn sell to large chains like K mart or CVS iharmacies. The company also sells to ocal groceries. B-B-Bats and Kits are still available in the mom and pop corner stores, Williams said. "But not all of them." Fellows said he knows Southern Tier children would like to see the candy being made and wishes he could offer tours to school children. He can't because of the risks involved with the hot substances and the machinery. Until that policy changes, you'll have to look for B-B-Bats and Kits in their usual place Halloween trick-or-treat bags. , 1 '' V- " , " " 4 -."V '- . - i-. - - - .. Phil Jones has his hands full cutting some candy