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Dedicated to Bob Hegdahl, Larry Barnaby, Ray
Farey, Bill Crow, Bob Crow, John Peterson, Roy McDiarmid, & Ned Kissig, true Helmsmen.
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 Many of us who grew up in Southern California in the 1950s and 1960s have fond memories of the Helms Bakery.
Their unique mustard yellow colored trucks and distinct "toot-toot" whistles would signal that the Helmsman had arrived in
your neighborhood. This scene was repeated on a daily basis by a fleet of approximately five hundred trucks all over Southern
Californa. "Three times around the world every day" was the Helms Bakery slogan.
Children would race to
the Helms truck with an excitement that would make the Good Humor man envious! Their moms would follow to buy fresh Olympic
Bread and perhaps a delicious treat for dessert. The appeal to us kids was the long wooden drawers containing endless rows
of the most delicious cookies, donuts, brownies, and cupcakes ever created. The goodies were individually arranged in each
drawer--lined up like soldiers.
It was so hard to choose! Fortunately, the Helmsman was friendly and helpful, and
he even knew most of the neighborhood children by name. The Helmsman wore an official Helms hat, a tie, and a shiny chrome
coin changer on his belt. It was such fun to get change! If you were especially lucky, he might give you a cardboard Helms
truck.
The bakery itself was based in a landmark art deco building which today houses an eclectic assortment of businesses.
It was located at 8800 Venice Boulevard at Helms Avenue in West Los Angeles. From this location, the fleet of Helms trucks
would fan out and deliver their fresh-baked treasures to the sunny neighborhoods they served.
In it's earlier years,
the Helms Bakery used Divco coaches to deliver their baked goods. In later years, they converted most of their fleet to 1962
Chevrolet panel trucks.
The Helms Bakery had a strong sports heritage. Their Olympic Bread commemorated their official
sponsorship of the 1932 Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles. In 1936 they founded the Helms Athletic Hall of Fame. This
became a model for the many sports halls of fame existing today. Olympic Bread was also said to nourish our Apollo 11 astronauts
on their way to the moon!
An example of a Helms truck can be seen at the original factory site in West Los Angeles.
Another restored example is in the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, no donuts
or other goodies are to be found within. The toot-toot whistle is silent.
After 38 years of delivering the very finest
in baked goods, the Helmsman stopped coming in 1969. It was the end of an era in Southern California. Sadly, today's
children will never feel the excitement of hearing the magical toot-toot whistle of the Helmsman.
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