Helms Bakery -Where Did They Go? History of a California memory and Olympic business

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Helms Bakery & Trucks - Where Did They Go? When the whistle tooted kids came running! A nostalgic history of a bygone time. The Helms Bakery coach and truck where a fixture in Southern California neighborhoods since 1931. The whistle of the truck signaled donuts, bread and pastries, still hot, where coming down the street! You put your blue H in your window and they would stop. Countless kids grabbed a nickle and ran after the trucks and as the long wooden drawers where drawn you could pick out your favorite treat like a jelly-filled doughnut!
Paul Helms came to California from New York and started the business in 1931 in a building designed by E.L.Bruner that has a distinctly non-industrial -factory feel. It's as though he might have known it's future purpose would be housing designers, media companies and restaurants.
Helms innovation was to have his baked products "Daily at Your Door " directly to peoples homes. Nothing was sold in retail stores it was all done by fleet of memorable branded tricks with a distinctive whistle!
We explore the history of the company some of the trucks and the re-purposing of the iconic building in Culver City
“The Best of California with Pat Pattison” is a fast-paced half hour TV show that explores the natural wonder, people, history and mysteries of the California Lifestyle. California native and TV Host Pat Pattison explores the state’s nooks and crannies from the historic backlots of Hollywood, famous California Cuisine all the way to the mansions of the Gold Rush and Silicon Valley. The world’s fifth largest economy and almost a country unto itself “The Best of California with Pat Pattison” offers us a compelling window into the future, past and present of one of the world’s most dynamic places.
Watch us in:
San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria on the Central Coast CW 5
Sundays 12:30pm
Palm Spring on the CW5
Sundays 12 noon
Bakersfield CW12
Saturdays 6:30am
Watch us in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Philadelphia and Orlando on Fun Roads TV. Check local listings at:
www.funroads.tv
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Helms Bakery District retail
www.helmsbakerydistrict.com
Like us on facebook
/ bestofca
Classic Helms Truck project:
www,criticalcarcare.com
Helms truck group on Facebook
Make suggestion for segments in the comments

Опубликовано:

6 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 92

@toastnjam7384 2 года назад

I looked forward to the Helms truck just as much as the ice cream truck. My fav were the sugar cookies. Things we lost 😔 I feel blessed for being born in 51. A kid in the 50's. teen in the 60's and a young adult in the 70's. The perfect age for those decades. I wish life had a reset button. I would never leave those years.

@theonewhomjesusloves1005 2 месяца назад

I was born in 58! Good times.

@donmac24 2 года назад

In 1971 I worked for a company that rented the Helms Bakery building. It was vacant and completely empty, but you could still smell the bread.

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

+Don MacAdam that’s incredible ! Great that it got successfully re-purposed. We love these stories!

@outdoorfreedom9778 2 года назад

I'm so glad I grew up with Helms!! Everything on those trucks was the best and freshes you could get. I had no idea the old bakery was still alive and doing well. my kingdom for some of the original bread, not this undersized stale crap they sell in the markets today! Yes, there are a lot of us still around that know how much smaller the loaves are being made today!!

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

Thanks for the memories . Spread the word . Any other ideas from your youth for a segment .

@bestofcaltv Год назад

@f u yes we will do Morano Beach! Love that story and have been to the location . Such a great legacy

@scottrunnels3958 11 месяцев назад

The chevy panel trucks with the long drawers is what I remember. The smell when those back doors opened was heavenly!!

@bobsebring2819 8 месяцев назад

I loved Helm's bakery! The trucks would always come down our street and we would always get their Lemon filled donuts. Pure heaven!! Great memories! Thanks!

@bestofcaltv 8 месяцев назад

+@bobsebring2819 thanks for watching I loved having that whistle blow!

@theonewhomjesusloves1005 2 месяца назад

Oh the wonderful memories!!!! I was 11 yrs old when they went out of business. The whole neighborhood came outside when they showed up!

@bestofcaltv 2 месяца назад

+@theonewhomjesusloves1005 really fun memories! Thanks for watching!

@jcwolfe1751 5 месяцев назад

When I was a kid we always looked forward to the Helms bakery truck coming down our street. Wish they had something like this where I live now.

@bestofcaltv 5 месяцев назад

+@jcwolfe1751 I know such great memories! Hard to do today I guess grub hub is the closest ?

@cheryls5636 2 года назад

I was never permitted to buy anything from them but sure did love the sugar smell from the trucks inside when he'd open the drawers to the donuts.

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

Thanks Cheryl ! Your folks were ahead of their time . Healthy !

@flynnmaxim3193 5 дней назад

I used to live in Rosemead Calif, And i remember a helms truck used to still be selling donuts on the 80s

@CJG1419 Год назад

The Helms bakery truck was the absolute best smell in the world

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+CJ 1419 the smell was still in the truck we saw restored and I’m told is still in some parts of the building in Culver City!

@billlonee9470 Год назад

Growing up in Glendora, I remember that whistle well. As well as the smell of the donut drawer being opened. Some things you never forget. What can I get for a quarter? Back then, there was an answer.

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Bill Lonee absolutely Bill! We had them in OC too. Jelly Donut was my fave!

@MilesCobbett 11 месяцев назад

A Glazed donut was only 7 cents in late 50's and early 1960's

@KimGregoryLA 2 года назад

Great story, and that is a great building, really nice what they did there.

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

Thanks Kim, hope all is well. Let’s catch up soon.

@captain99p39 Год назад

I remember going on field trips in the early 60's to Helms Bakery and getting the small loaves of bread and the smells of the bakery yum.

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Captain99P that’s a great memory . The smell is still in the trucks often.

@MaggieLogue 10 месяцев назад

My mom used to get bread from Helm's bakery. In elementary school we had a field trip to Helm's bakery. It was huge. We got a small loaf of bread, a package of little powdered doughnuts and a paper Helm's truck. I loved the jelly doughnuts and the cream filled cupcakes. You didn't mention the Helm's Bakery became the Antiques Guild after they went out of bussines first.

@deborahconkle6822 Год назад

I remember Helms and George,he was our guy in Buena Park. So nice. Great memory,thanks for the video.

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Deborah Conkle you bet Deborah, thanks for watching . Great memories! Spread the word and share anything else you’d like to see us cover.

@3939michele Год назад

Our truck was that snub nose coach. Helms distributed placards to put in your window so the truck would know to stop at your house. My grandma lived on Helms Ave (north side). The Helms employee parking lot was next to her house. The smell of baking bread was so delicious. Helms would give tours of the bakery to school groups. I loved their chocolate donuts without the frosting. I have such good memories of Helms. We were lucky to grow up with the smell of Pioneer bakery where my mom would buy sourdough bread.

@bestofcaltv Год назад

That’s such great history! I loved the jelly donuts

@kidmack3556 2 года назад

I remember coming back to Los Angeles for a visit in 1974, after moving to San Francisco in 1970, and hearing that Helms had closed. I think that might've been my first lesson in "Nothing lasts forever" Yes, for me the bonnet yellow and dark navy Chevrolet panel trucks. I feel sorry for my contemporaries from the East who grew up eating "Krispy Kreme" donuts To borrow a quote from one of my favorite films, partially filmed in Pasadena; "Krispy Kreme donuts are to eatin' what telephone books are to readin' "

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

+Kid Mack they see a favorite when I was a kid for sure !

@ddlp8252 8 месяцев назад

My favorite was the chocolate eclairs…SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!!!!! As soon as those back panel doors opened up you’d get the waft of fresh (some of it still warm!) baked goodies that made you salivate like Pavlov’s dog!!! Those beautiful real wood drawers would glide open and WHAM!!! Ain’t life grand?!?! It really was back then…

@bestofcaltv 8 месяцев назад

+@ddlp8252 it is a true sensation memory for sure ! Thanks for watching

@colinchampollion4420 7 месяцев назад

@@bestofcaltvthe best memories of my happy childhood

@rhuggard2011 2 года назад

Helms truck, 5 inch thick LA Times on Sundays. All gone.

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

+maximus I know so much missing . Did you like Good Humor ice cream and we had Adohr Farms milkman too!

@PatZeman 2 месяца назад

My dad bought a Helms' truck in 1968. He needed a van to transport our family of eleven. Some of us peeled off the letters and he repainted it white on the top and blue on the bottom. He put windows on both sides and a bench seat along each side. There was enough room to even invite a couple friends along on beach trips!

@bestofcaltv 2 месяца назад

+@PatZeman so great! A bit of history! Thanks for watching!

@craigcorson3036 11 месяцев назад

I worked in that building for a few years in the '80s, when it was The Antique Guild. Possibly the best years of my life, I really enjoyed working there. Having grown up in Wisconsin, I never had the opportunity to enjoy any Helms products, though.

@bestofcaltv 11 месяцев назад

+Craig Corson that’s great to hear . Thanks for watching

@sharonmontrief3358 Год назад

My dad worked for Helms Bakery Culver City for years. He retired in the early 60’s.

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Sharon Montrief how great . Love those trucks and fresh baked goods! A proud legacy !

@grtwhtnrth 2 месяца назад

Chevy panel trucks in '67 '68 in Port Hueneme Oxnard area. I still to this day crave their donuts.

@bestofcaltv 2 месяца назад

+@grtwhtnrth the best! Thanks for watching

@reeltrides911S Год назад

What a great video!!!, still smell those chocolate and powdered doughnuts from the truck tray, and all of those other wax candy lips in the other tray, while waiting for our Crown School bus in 1967 Alhambra, CA. Absolutely loved my youth. We were poor, but happy. Great neighborhood, and memories. What the F happened????

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Reel T Rides thanks fun one to do. The stores product was cheaper than Helms an it slowly stopped

@Moondoggy1941 8 месяцев назад

2:38 I remember that truck when I was a kid growing up in the 60's. I remember when they would pull out those long drawers and the smell of fresh glaze donuts, were heaven. I still remember the smell. You bet I was a good boy up until that truck pulled up.

@bestofcaltv 8 месяцев назад

+@Moondoggy1941 amazing time wasn’t it? Good memories. Thanks for watching!

@LeeFred78 Год назад

I grew up in Orange County and remember the Helms Bakery trucks very well. We usually didn't see them during the week because we were at school. But on those days school was out, we'd hear the whistle and start bugging our Mom to get us something from the truck. We would rush outside with Mom and flag down the truck. She would get the bread and other baked staples while we waited eagerly for the doughnuts, cookies and other sweets. I remember the driver would scratch his head while he opened and closed the various drawers while looking for his products. And each drawer being opened emitted that smell of fresh baked goods that just made our stomachs rumble with anticipation. Our Mom always didn't have the cash to pay for all her purchases, so the driver had her name written down in a book and kept a running total of what she owed. Those were some good times and some delicious snacks!

@bestofcaltv Год назад

The smell was amazing !

@JackSpellerberg Год назад

When I was a kid we lived in Costa Mesa, and my dad used a Helms whistle to call me home when the street lights came on. I can still hear that dual tone sound bringing all the good memories back. Our neighbors were always confused why the bakery truck was at our house every night!

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Jack Spellerberg amazing Jack that whistle is so iconic when you hear it. Even more so for you . Thanks for sharing that great story . Fun!

@phyllishedrick4421 Год назад

I remember when I was a kid we would by donuts they were always fresh.

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Phyllis Hedrick the best particularly the Jelly ones for me! Thanks for watching Phyllis, share with friend if you get a chance .

@Tunadavis 2 года назад

The bakery closed in 68? But I remember the truck coming down my street in San Diego into the mid-70s I think. I was born in 68.

@markdanielczyk944 Год назад

Great video. Glad to see the building and some of the trucks have survived. Next time I'm in L.A. I'll swing by.

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+Mark Danielczyk thanks Mark, it is amazing . We need more of this re-purposing of historic buildings. Better for all. Spread the word!

@johnreyes1749 8 месяцев назад

Oh man the Helms bakery truck🤤🤤I grew up in Santa Ana and there was a Helms bakery next to Cox electronics on Dyer Rd before you went over the 55 fwy😎

@bestofcaltv 8 месяцев назад

+@johnreyes1749 fond memories for me too in Corona del Mar. loved the Jelly donuts!

@torineg.847 9 месяцев назад

That's great, I remember outside we'd be and you could smell the bread. They pulled out the big racks @ 2:45 As kids we loved the smells. and as you say the good humor ice creme truck and Milk Man in their clean white pants and shirts. A time when things tasted great, No fast foods yet and people were slim, that was before they took out all the much needed nutrients out of all foods and BEFORE cows were injected with growth hormones and antibiotics and I'd say it was around the time when boys were developing breasts from the toxins in the foods. 50s&60s were a good family life to an extent.

@melviasheppard8466 11 месяцев назад

I remember the Helms Bakery truck ❣️We would be on our best behavior until the truck came. After that, all bets are off 😆.

@bestofcaltv 11 месяцев назад

+Melvia Sheppard it was a treat to behave for back then . Thanks for watching !

@rodneymacomber6337 8 месяцев назад

I saw remember the Helms man in Paramount and Southgate in Lakewood, California

@bestofcaltv 8 месяцев назад

+@rodneymacomber6337 wasn’t it great ! Loved the jelly donuts.

@orl2222 2 года назад

I remember the Helms truck, the only truck my mom would let me buy off of. It's a shame they are gone. I heard some fancy chef is going to " reopen the Helms bakery". Sad, gentrification of former company that served affordable, and good baked goods. Now that famous brand will serve foo foo baked goods, and high priced tripple late moca drinks with extra cream. I lived in a latino area of town, and our family didn't have alot of money, but managed to get baked bread off the Helms truck. The bakery will now serve to people that didn't even know of what a Helms truck was. SAD.

@LesterMoore 4 месяца назад

When working as a large LTL truck carrier manager I went to roll up an empty trailer door. Upon raising the rollup my senses were overwhelmed by that same fragrance everyone of a certain age may recall. The sweet traces of sugar, yeast, chocolate and icing that were immediately upon you as soon as the Helm's delivery man opened the two swing doors of the golden Chevrolet panel truck. I stood at the open trailer door and allowed myself a small time travel trip back to the 1950s. My Great grandmother and I (my height was right at the drawer that held the creampuffs) standing by those treasured sliding shelves. As the other ladies approached the driver took the payment for fresh potato bread. Suddenly I was back in the present. Indeed I and others grew up in magic time in Southern California. Like music can transport us back in time, so can certain other things. Maybe others might remember main street when each store had it's own distinctive smell.

@bestofcaltv 3 месяца назад

+@LesterMoore

@bestofcaltv 3 месяца назад

+@bestofcaltv so great Lester like poetry !

@SDCornishman 2 года назад

They made it up the hill to Barstow.

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

+Lory Box they got around for sure . San Bernardino and Colton too! Thanks for watching Lory spread the word !

@CivicPalosVerdesEstates 14 дней назад

There were miniature Cardboard Helms Bakery Trucks that were folded into 3D.

@bestofcaltv 10 дней назад

+@CivicPalosVerdesEstates love that! Don’t remember those!

@roberthall5616 Месяц назад

Dang Helms truck almost never came down our dead-end street in Lemon Grove.

@bestofcaltv Месяц назад

+@roberthall5616 that’s awful! But I bet your games weren’t interrupted, like ours were on regular streets “CAR!”

@spikespa5208 7 месяцев назад

We had Helms trucks in Pacific Beach San Diego. More popular with a lot of kids than the ice cream truck.

@bestofcaltv 7 месяцев назад

+@spikespa5208 we loved it in Orange County!

@ramonjrusa 19 дней назад

Wow. So when Helms went out of business in the late 60s, what donut truck was coming around our neighborhood of Huntington Parkin the early 80s? I remember the donut man in a panel truck sliding out the drawer of donuts to sell…

@bestofcaltv 17 дней назад

+@ramonjrusa I think k some drivers bought their own trucks and stocked them from other sources just to maintain the route.

@chriscase9549 2 года назад

Actually, all the way to San Diego.

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

+chris case Wow we didn’t know that! Amazing . There was another bakery in Montebello so that may have made those runs. Thanks for watching and spread the word!

@spikespa5208 7 месяцев назад

Had 'em in Pacific Beach, San Diego in the early '60s Loved the mini single serving loaves!

@barneyevans6940 Месяц назад

They were also in San Diego.

@bestofcaltv Месяц назад

+@barneyevans6940 fond memory right ?

@chrisbrimhall1613 8 месяцев назад

My neighbor was a Helms Bakery driver……we thought its was the coolest job…..

@bestofcaltv 2 года назад

David Shelby’s proper website : criticalcarcare.com/

@mikestang679 Год назад

Their CREAM PUFFS were the best.....The GOLDEN YEARS of AMERICANA........The "HELMSMEN" statue is at Burton Chase Park, in MARINA DEL-REY, California, it used to be displayed at the bakery......👍

@bestofcaltv Год назад

+mike stang it’s there now? Wow love finding this lost and found treasures! We’ll go look !

@mikestang679 Год назад

@@bestofcaltv Yes, it's still there, overlooking the channel, gigantic statue in foul weather gear, you can NOT miss it. It's awesome.....