Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams

 I've been going back through my posts and I'm surprised that I've not published anything specific on the candy store that my great-great aunt owned and operated in San Francisco. I've mentioned the store in other posts, but it's time to post specifically on the store. That candy store was Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams. 

The store was owned and operated by Thomas Edwin Fogalsang (1871-1928) and his wife, Frances Cleveland (Dodge) Fogalsang (1888-1955). From what I've been able to find, operations started in early 1924 and was operated out of their home on 59 Collins Street. Below is an advertisement published in The San Francisco Examiner from February 1924. The business was originally called California Pru-Nut Creams Co.

Eventually, the business was located at 669 Geary Street in San Francisco. Below is an advertisement published in the San Anselmo Herald in November of 1924. 

Below are several advertisements for employment opportunities at Fogalsang's. All were published in The San Francisco Examiner and found on the website newspapers.com. As a side note, I did several different searches using several different terms to find as many advertisements for employment as I could. I'm sure there are other employment advertisements in The San Francisco Examiner, but the search results are only as accurate as the information that is transcribed

May 19, 1925

December 8, 1926

September 30 & October 1, 1930

December 10, 1935

November 4, 1940

August 19-22, 1941

September 26-27, 1942

January 3, 1943

June 10-14, 1943

It is amazing that there are websites, such as newspapers.com (where the above clippings come from) and genealogybank.com (which contain additional newspapers from all over the United States) that are available for online perusal where this information can be found. Another website that I recently searched is the California Digital Newspaper Collection, where the following article was found. This article, published in The Healdsburg Tribune in May of 1939, describes one of the confections that was manufactured.

I'm not sure how this particular candy fared in the market.

For anyone wondering...No. We don't have any of the recipes that would have existed. As far as I know, those are all long gone. The business appears to have operated for nearly 20 years. The last mention in any of the newspapers or San Francisco directories of Fogalsang's is 1943. In 1944, the location became a beauty shop. I used google maps to look up the address of the business. The building is still there. Below is a picture of what is there today.

My grandpa remembered visiting Fogalsang's as a kid during the 1930's. His dad was Frances' brother and they traveled from Wyoming to San Francisco to visit. He remembers staying in an apartment above the store and being told to be quiet and not to make too much noise so as to not disturb the business below. Below is a picture of my great-grandfather in front of the store front.

A couple of years ago, I received an email from the proprietor of Antiques on First, an antique store in Benicia, California. They had received a box (pictured below) of Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams (minus the candy, of course 😄). While researching where the box was from and who and what Fogalsang's was, they came across my blog and reached out to me. They were kind enough to send the box to me. I am grateful that they sent this to me so that my family can enjoy this tangible piece of family history.

***UPDATE November 26, 2020 - I found three additional help wanted advertisements from the The San Francisco Examiner that were published in July of 1924. The business was located at 871 Geary Street and was called 'Pru-Nut Cream Co.'

July 15-17, 1924