Sweet tradition on Outer Banks continues

OUTER BANKS, N.C. (WAVY) — The ‘Candy Bomber’ legacy in Manteo is coming back for the 24th year.

It comes from a story of the Berlin Airlift. That’s when Western Allies dropped supplies from planes for people in West Berlin when the Soviet Union shut off access to the area.

One U.S. pilot went above and beyond for the kids on the runway. He realized the horrible living conditions and wanted to do what he could.

“He [Gail Halvorsen] started making out of handkerchiefs, parachutes and he asked all his comrades to give him the Hershey candy bar,” said Karin Edmond, who lived in West Berlin as a little girl. “He started out dropping out of the airplane window every time when he approached Berlin. We kids were happy about it because we never seen candy.”

Those memories stayed with Edmond.

The memory came back up when she heard a familiar sound that stopped her in her tracks.

“I remember that noise,’ she said.

She heard it from the Dare County Regional Airport near Manteo, where there was an airshow.

”When I saw this spirit of freedom, that was bringing tears to my eyes,” Edmond said.

She laid eyes on the C-54 she remembered as a little girl in Berlin.

Beside it was the man she saw from high in the sky, Gail Halvorsen.

That’s the moment she wanted to make that magical sweet treat happen again — this time in Manteo.

“I took over making the candy drop here every year,” Edmond said. “I led him back here to many of every I could. Fantastic … the candy drop is for the children.”

While this year will be a tad bit different, it still honors Halvorsen’s footsteps.

“I’m making it a candy drop like Gail did after the Berlin Airlift lifted,” Edmond said. “He went around to the orphan to the shelters. … He was going around and handing them children the candy bar and oranges. I want 10 of (the) locals and two of the German brigadiers are coming to Washington, D.C., and they sit in front of the Christmas tree and hand the candy bars out to the kids.”

Some of the candy will be secured with parachutes and dropped from the airport’s balcony.

“I think I will have a good turnout this Saturday,” Edmond said.

Some of the sweet treats have a special prize.

“I’m happy to do that,” Edmond said. “I love it to do that. And they thank God for all my sponsors with this, standing with me and helping me.”

Edmond told 10 On Your Side she is planning another large celebration.

On May 12, 2024, it will be the 75th anniversary of when the Soviet Union lifted the blockade on West Berlin.

If the pilot who usually flies the C-54 gets better, Edmond will organize the iconic candy drop from a plane.

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