Retro Fair Candy Apple Daze — Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect

Candy, Ray and Marion Bennett tend to the candy apples at the Fair Haven Firemen's Fair circa 1979 Photo/Fair Haven Fire Department Yearbook, courtesy of Evie Connor Kelly — Candy, Ray and Marion Bennett tend to the candy apples at the
Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair circa 1979
Photo/Fair Haven Fire Department Yearbook, courtesy of Evie Connor Kelly

The Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair is one week away from its opening night. With the fair, of course, comes goodies. Confections. Fair food. One favorite that hasn’t made a comeback and won’t still is the candy apple. So, we look back and reminisce about a fair treat and tradition gone with this “back by popular demand” reprise and a little addition …

How do you like them apples? If the name fits, you know … And it did. She may not have been the actual boss lady of the booth, but perhaps we could call her the Big Dipper? I mean, who better to one of those at the helm the candy apple operation at the Fair Haven Firemen’s Fair than a woman named Candy — Candy Bennett?

The Retro Pic of the Day offers a glimpse back to fair days in 1979 with yet another fair family affair at another booth — the candy apple booth (or corner of the Out Back, or what used to be called just the hot dog booth).

Pictured are the Bennett family, lifetime fire company members: Candy, husband Ray and Ray’s mom Marion.

OK, so Candy wasn’t the apple ring leader, but close. To set the record straight, Candy’s husband Ray gave us the true intel on the booth and its operation and leadership.

“Millie Felsmann was and still is the Candy Apple Lady,” he said. “We all were just a part of her booth. She would start working on making these apples very early in the morning (6 a.m.) and we would not be done until around
1 or 2 p.m. with 1200 + apples (a day).
Candy and I would be busy each night making cotton candy (There’s that candy part again) and my mom was busy selling the waffle ice cream sandwiches that we also made up each day.
Side note: The big apple case (pictured) is still alive today.
The bottom part is in my shop down here in South Carolina.”.
Longtime Fair Haven fireman Ray Bennett

For many years, seeing that pictured trio pop their heads out of the booth, candy apple in hand, was a familiar sight.

Candy and crew made a mean candy apple. Look at them! The caramel ones with nuts and a Granny Smith apple were a favorite — and, as the old Shake-n-Bake commercial line goes, Ray and Marion could say, “and I helped!”

And when we asked the other day what was missed most at the Out Back, some kids who helped make those thousands of apples chimed in.

One of those “kids” was Bob Frank.

“I was a candy apple maker with the Acker and Felsmann family,” he said. “Our moms would bring us all down early in the morning and we would prep the apples and the moms would dip them and once cooled we would wrap them and stack the shelf for the night’s consumption. I couldn’t even guess how many I’ve made over the years. They were goooooooood.”

How many over the years? Well, likely millions!

And lest we forget that the candy on those apples wasn’t just that red hard candy. It meant caramel, too, and with nuts. People were nuts for those things.

But while those caramel apples would pull a filling out in one chew, they were worth it. Call it jaw strengthening exercise. Tasty exercise.

Why no more candy apples? Lack of dippers?

Thanks to Evie Connor Kelly, once again, for saving these fire company yearbook photos and sharing them!