Joseph Fralinger facts for kids
Joseph F. Fralinger (born October 22, 1848, died May 13, 1927) was a smart American businessman and candy maker. He is best known for making salt water taffy incredibly popular. The candy store he started in Atlantic City, New Jersey over a hundred years ago is still a famous spot on its boardwalk today.
Before becoming a candy king, Fralinger worked as a glassblower and even sold fish. He opened his first store on the Atlantic City boardwalk to sell his taffy. In just one year, he added a special taffy stand. He spent a whole winter making his salt water taffy recipe perfect. He started with molasses flavor, then added chocolate and vanilla. Eventually, he created 25 different flavors!
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Joseph Fralinger's Life Story
Joseph Fralinger was born in Sweetwater, New Jersey. He was raised by his uncle and learned how to blow glass from his father. He worked as a glassblower for sixteen years in different towns.
Later, he moved to Philadelphia and worked selling fish and produce. There, he met Nettie B. Beck, and they got married on June 9, 1870. Joseph was also very interested in baseball. He played on teams and even managed his own baseball club in Philadelphia. This team was very successful, winning 84 out of 96 games!
Starting Over in Atlantic City
Joseph and Nettie moved to Atlantic City because people believed the fresh air there could help his wife's health. In Atlantic City, he managed a minor league baseball team called the August Flowers. After this, he faced some tough times and lost most of his money.
But Joseph loved Atlantic City and decided to stay. He took a job as a hod carrier, which meant carrying bricks for builders. Around 1880, other people had already started selling taffy on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
By 1884, Joseph was doing better financially. He opened a cigar store and also a stand selling soft drinks like cider and lemonade. He was known for juggling lemons to attract customers!
The Birth of Salt Water Taffy Fame
At the end of summer in 1884, Joseph was asked to take over a taffy stand on the Applegate Pier. He agreed! During the winter of 1885, he studied books about making candy. The next spring, he made his first batch of salt water taffy. He started with molasses flavor, then quickly added popular flavors like chocolate and vanilla. Over time, he offered a huge selection of 25 different flavors.
Joseph had a brilliant idea: selling salt water taffy in a box. He ordered 200 boxes for a weekend, and to his surprise, all the one-pound boxes sold out by Sunday! He quickly bought oyster boxes from a nearby restaurant to keep selling. The one-pound box of taffy became, and still is, the most popular size. It became "The Atlantic City Souvenir."
By 1899, many candy makers were selling taffy in Atlantic City. But Joseph Fralinger's idea of boxing the taffy earned him the nickname "King of Salt Water Taffy."
Building Atlantic City
Joseph Fralinger also became involved in real estate. He worked with friends to build new places, including a pharmacy, another candy store, and the first real theater on the Boardwalk, called The Academy of Music. He even built apartments named after his wife, Jeanette.
In 1896, Joseph helped lead a project to make the Boardwalk wider and stronger. He also worked to stop railroads from building tracks too close to the ocean side of the Boardwalk. Through his real estate work, he helped develop other parts of Atlantic City.
Joseph was also a member of the Neptune Hose Company, a volunteer fire department. He also had a summer home in Pennsylvania. There, he became interested in a boys' camp that needed help. He bought 11 acres of land and gave it to the Boy Scouts to use as a summer camp. It was named Camp Fralinger in his honor and was very popular, especially with Boy Scouts from Atlantic City.
Joseph F. Fralinger passed away at 78 years old on May 13, 1927. He was buried in the Atlantic City Cemetery.
Images for kids
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Fralinger's shop on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.
