The foundation for Brown & Haley rested on the business and personal relationship forged by the company’s founders, Henry L. Brown and Jonathan Clifford Haley. The two co-founders met in 1908 in Tacoma, Washington, where Brown owned a small confectionery store. Haley was a newcomer to Tacoma, having left Ohio for the Pacific Northwest to start a new life where opportunities abounded and, according to infectious gossip, quick fortunes could be made. After Haley and Brown crossed paths for the first time, the two men struck a friendship that manifested itself in the business arena, where each could apply their individual talents. Of the two, Haley was the businessman, adept at sales and marketing. Brown’s interests ran in a different direction. He envisioned himself as a candymaker and spent his time experimenting with different recipes for making chocolate and sugar candies. Brown and Haley began working together to develop a business venture in 1912, the year observed by Brown & Haley as the founding date for the company. Two years later, the complementary business relationship between Henry Brown and J. C. Haley was made official with the incorporation of their business, the Oriole Candy Company, the predecessor to Brown & Haley.
