John Margolies captured the super-sized rolls of life saver candies that were displayed outside of the headquarters building in Port Chester, NY in 1976. The building, on North Main Street (Route One), dates to 1920 when the only peppermint life savers were being manufactured by the company. Founded by Edward Noble, the company grew to employ 650 at its peak, and cranked out millions of rolls of candy in Port Chester during the 1960s after merging with Beech Nut and expanding the building. By the 1980s, competition and declining sales led the company to sell their operation to Nabisco. Shortly thereafter, its headquarters was moved out of Port Chester. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was converted to condominiums in 1987. The peppermint roll, once on display on Main St is now in Gouverneur, NY, Edward Noble’s birthplace.

What was your favorite life saver flavor? The original pep-O-mint? butter rum? lime? lemon? cryst-O-mint? wild cherry? five-flavor assortment? cinnamon? grape? cl-O-ve? spear-O-mint? Vi-O-late? chock-O-late? mixed berry? stik-O-pep? Molas-O-mint? or lic-O-ric? Are there any other flavors you remember? Please, add a comment!

photos Courtesy of Library of Congress John Margolies Roadside America Collection