Golden Sun chips were introduced by 1946 by Norman Derhammer. A fictitious name was filed with the state in May, 1947. That's right around the time when Charles Chips was born. And that's not surprising. At one time decades ago--Pa. was the leading producer in the nation of potato chips & pretzels according to the Department of Agriculture. Leading producer--but not the leading consumer!
Golden Sun was pretty much a "mom & pop" family operation for decades. It was well-respected around Slatington. The company was not a big player. Their chips were carried in corner stores & farmers markets in northern Lehigh, Northampton, & Carbon counties or roughly a 25 miles radius of Slatington.
In 1971, Norman had to sell the company due to failing health to Edwin & Mary Ann Stephens. Mary Ann was a long-time potato chip packer for Norman. By 1991, I saw in a newspaper article where Golden Sun was producing about 14,000 pounds of chips a week. During Operation Desert Storm Golden Sun sent hundreds of boxes of chips to our troops fighting in the Middle East. After 1996 & being around for over 50 years, I can learn little about the company. It seems Golden Sun just faded away. Can anyone supply more information?
There's a Facebook group page trying to bring back Golden Sun Chips. Besides having what many called "the best chips in the world" the Golden Sun Potato chip bags had another unique use: kids used to take the inside of the bag & rub down the metal on sliding boards at the park to get them slippery. There's a memory you'll only hear about in the coal regions.
Today's post is a real challenge, but hopefully the Golden Sun pictures below (the blue item is an old promotional ashtray) will help jog your memory. LATE BREAKING NEWS: We were informed an article about Golden Sun Chips & old time pictures will appear in Slatington's 150th anniversary history book that will be available this year.
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