In May of 1949, Bill and Dorothy Harmsen purchased an ice cream machine and leased a storefront on the east side of Washington Ave. They chose the name Jolly Rancher for their store to reflect a spirit of western hospitality. High quality chocolates and soft-serve ice cream were the first products dispensed there. In the early 1950s, Bill invented a soft cinnamon-flavored taffy called the Fire Stix. The company eventually outgrew the storefront, and the original building burned down in 1966.