I collect Pez dispensers
Kidsday reporter Danika Riccio, of Udall Road Middle School, West Islip, has 120 Pez dispensers in her collection. Credit: Riccio family
When people think about the brand Pez, they probably think about the candy, but not me, I think about the Pez dispenser. That’s because I collect them.
The first thing to know about my Pez collection is that I started to collect the dispensers when I was about 4. My first Pez dispenser was a little duck on a blue foot stand. Another thing about my Pez collection, is that I have 120 dispensers. Out of all of them my favorite is my Minnie Mouse Pez.
There are a variety of Pez dispensers. Some of these include, key chains, foot stands and some huge ones too. I buy them, but I also get a lot as gifts because everyone knows how much I like them.
According to the company's website, pez.com, Pez candy was invented in 1927 in Vienna, Austria, by Eduard Haas III. They first were called Pfefferminz, the German word for peppermint. Haas then took the P, E and the Z from that and named the candy Pez.
In 1948, Oscar Uxa invented and patented a little mechanical box for dispensing the candy. In the whole world today there are about 1,500 different Pez boxes. The first Pez dispenser was shaped like a cigarette lighter. In 1952, Pez came to the United States. In 1973, Pez built a candy manufacturing facility in Orange, Connecticut, near New Haven. In 2011, Pez opened the Pez Visitor Center there.
At the center is is a museum area featuring history, trivia and memorabilia related to the classic candy and dispensers. The Pez center has all the Pez dispensers they have ever sold. There is a 10-foot Pez dispenser, a boy wearing a hat, when you first walk in. Also there is an area where you can make your own Pez dispenser.
Jeanette Merola and Janet Renganeschi’s sixth-grade class, Udall Road Middle School, West Islip
