There was something to celebrate Tuesday morning — a rebirth of sorts and longevity, as well.
Ron Gallardo, co-owner of Shepperd’s Candy, addresses the crowd Tuesday as his son, Vicente Gallardo, holds the microphone.
It was the sole reason a large crowd formed outside Shepperd’s Candy, 2405 Harrison Ave. People gathered to applaud the candy store’s formal reopening after sustaining extensive damage after a Dodge pickup struck the building in the early morning hours on Oct. 21, 2023. The business now looks exactly how it looked before the accident.
The store had become a family tradition, Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher said to gathered crowd.
“Shepperd’s is an icon in our community,” said Gallagher.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident, its owners, Ron and Mary Gallardo, chose to focus on the positive.
“No one got hurt, that’s the big thing,” said Ron, in an Oct. 23, 2023 interview, with Mary adding, “We will be OK — it could have been worse.”
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The other reason for Tuesday’s gathering was to applaud even louder as the couple noted the 70th anniversary of the Butte confectionary.
It was a day to celebrate.
Mary Gallardo, co-owner of Shepperd’s Candy, was all smiles at the Tuesday celebration.
Thanks to father and son, Bruce Shepperd Sr. and Bruce Shepperd Jr., the candy business opened at its present location in 1954, and the family business would later be handed down to Bruce Jr.’s daughter, Roberta Egedahl and her husband, Dave Egedahl.
Tom Cronnelly of the B-SB Chamber of Commerce called Shepperd’s an old fashioned business selling old-fashioned candy. He then told the crowd how in 1918, there were 70 confectionaries in Butte and now there is just Shepperd’s, which is now in the capable hands of Ron and Mary.
“It has been a treasure for the past 70 years,” said Cronnelly.
For Sheriff Ed Lester, his family has always sent Shepperd’s candy to out-of-state relatives because it takes them right back to Butte.
The sheriff likes getting a box for himself, too.
“Ever since I was little, when a box of Shepperd’s Candy came, I always grabbed the caramel-covered marshmallows that are wrapped in wax paper,” said the sheriff. “A box comes with a light caramel and a darker caramel and they are both awesome!”
