Recipe: Helm's Trucks

I was raised in Manhattan Beach, CA and the Helm's Truck was as constant in our lives as the moon and stars and tides. It didn't quite have a horn or an incessant melody, just two taps from the driver announcing the Helm's presence on your street, it sounded something like a cross between a caliope and a steam whistle. This truck was very compact but you could walk inside and pick out anything you wanted, everything from the best jelly donuts ever created (eat your hearts out Krispy Kreme!) to an assortment of breads and coffee cakes and they even carried cartons of cigarettes! I grew up in a time where where there were at least 75 kids per block and we always played outside. so the Helm's truck was always an exciting break in our day and I was very popular because the Helm's Truck gave my family a running tab because my mom was such a good customer. However, my father didn't know a thing about this but the secret was pretty safe considering he didn't have much of a sweet tooth. In the meantime I paraded on the truck with all my new friends and we'd pick out something together every day and I'd say, "It's on me!"

One morning my father got up and he heard the Helm's Truck. "You know what?!? I think a glazed donut would hit the spot!" My mother was horrified and tried to tell him she'd run out and get one for him. "No, no no -- you're still in your bathrobe, I'll get it!" The Helm's Truck driver had waited months for this moment. "Mister, before I even think about selling you a donut, you have to pay me ninety-six dollars and seventy-five cents for that tab of yours!" There are times when men get so angry that they don't say a word or utter a single word. My father had one of those times that morning. He paid up, decided to pass on that glazed donut, and just sat motionless at the kitchen table for a few hours not making so much as eye contact with any of us, especially my mom. That was a lot of money in 1967. It took about a week but he was back to his old self but still, it was a bit too much for him and one night with friends he relayed the entire story much to everyone's amusement as my mom slowly shrunk with embarrassment. But everyone had a good laugh but there always was a silence that would fall over our household whenever we heard that truck. My dad was transferred out of state in the summer of 1969 and everyone through our family a going away party. And one of his friends pulled out a folded up article that had been in the LA Times: "Helm's Bread goes to the moon!" Yes, it was true. The bread that NASA deemed to be THE bread was Helm's Everyone laughed. The Helm's Truck brings back many memories. I saw one about ten years ago at an auto museum in Atlanta. I was suprised to see how SMALL they were! What I'd do to hear that funny horn sound!