I want an Old King Tut Bar…now!

This morning, I put up this Fat City post about the anniversary of the opening of King Tut-ankh-Amen’s tomb and the story of the short-lived candy bar inspired by the event. A couple of hours later, I received an e-mail from Russell Sifers, owner of the Merriam-based Russell Sifers Candy Company, which continues to make the famous Valomilk candy cups.

Sifers had read the post about his grandfather Harry Sifers creating the Old King Tut Bar in the 1920s, not long after “King Tut” mania took over the country. He knew the story well since he’s the one who told it to me!

Russ had his own caveat to the earlier Fat City post, recalling that when he was in junior high school, his teacher, Gil Reynolds, discussed the media frenzy that took place after the opening of Tut’s tomb and a fad for “Egyptian” influenced fashion, furnishings, films and books. Young Sifers recalled that his grandfather’s company had been part of that craze and introduced the short-lived Old King TuT bar.

“It was a caramel, nougat, peanut and chocolate roll much like Pearson’s Nut Roll today,” write Sifers, “but with a chocolate coating.”

As a young man, Russell Sifers would sweep the old Sifers factory at 20th and Main (where the Hereford House parking lot is now) and found some unused candy wrappers created for the Old King Tut Bar. The next time his teacher started discussing ancient Egypt and the actual Tut-ankh-Amen, Russell brought those candy wrappers to school.

“Many years later,” Sifers wrote, “I found out that Mr. Reynolds would pull out the Old King Tut wrappers to show his class every year they studied Tut. He did this until he retired.”

I’d like to be eating an Old King Tut Bar right now. And watching The Mummy.