Our History
South Park Caramels
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In the mid-1950's, the ladies of South park Methodist, a friendly little church at the corner of Stonemill and Brown in Dayton, Ohio, united and began cooking up deliciously fresh caramels to sell as a Christmas-time fundraiser. The caramels were cooked, cut, wrapped, and packaged by hand, one piece at a time, and then driven down the street and sold to NCR employees to give as Christmas gifts. It didn't take long for the word to spread, and, soon, South Park-style caramels became a Christmas-time tradition. For the next 60 years, South Park United Methodist Church made and sold the best gourmet caramels in town.
At its peak, South Park produced more than 5,100 pounds of caramels every October, just in time for Christmas gift giving. Over those 60 years, the sales from South Park Caramels benefited the Kingdom Kids/40 Days of Summer, Esther's Closet, the East Dayton Food Pantry, Boy Scout Troop 320, South Park Pastor's Discretionary Fund, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, Red Bird Mission, the Dayton Food Bank, and, toward the end, it even helped pay a light bill or two. Sadly, the church grew steadily smaller, and in May, 2016, South Park closed its doors. Church members tried to find a new home for the Caramel project, but, sadly, churches who could benefit from a fundraiser this big were growing smaller as well. The South Park Caramel Project was without a home. |
Stonemill & Brown Caramels
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Soon after South Park closed, the Chairwoman of the Caramel Committee contacted each and every customer to let them know the bad news: South Park Caramels would not be available for Christmas 2016. One long-term customer (who bought 150 pounds of caramels every year to give as client and referral gifts) was devastated. He was in a real bind: it was before Christmas, and he had to come up with a new gift idea for 150 preferred clients. He had been a dedicated, regular customer and had even helped cook and wrap caramels. The news of this customer's hardship made its way back to a handful of South Park caramel makers, and they got together and cooked up this customer's caramels for what they thought would be one last time. But just like in the mid-1950's, word quickly spread, and Stonemill & Brown was born. That first Christmas we served just 6 customers. In 2017, we served over 100 customers. In 2018, we grew by 25% and are still growing.
We have certainly grown since the South Park days, but we have not forgotten our roots. Our South Park founders cooked, cut, and wrapped each caramel by hand, one piece at at time. That tradition of quality and care remains and will forever be at the heart of Stonemill & Brown. |