Still Old School: The Parrot in Helena

Most people who grew up in Helena have a Parrot story, and a lot of them start with a school tour. That is how Karlee Kleinschmidt first saw the back of The Parrot Confectionery. She told Cowboy State Daily it was a rite of passage: get past the candy counters and the soda fountain without stopping, and make it back to the kitchen.

The shop opened in 1922. William and Iantha Post did not have money for advertising, so they named it the Parrot and gave it a slogan that is still in use: “It talks for itself.” The candy recipes have barely changed in a century. The shop’s own count is about 130 kinds of candy, all made on site, and the caramel is still cooked in an old copper pot. There is a hand-cranked elevator for hauling supplies up from the basement, and 1920s equipment still in use. Teenagers who carved their names into the booths in the 1940s and ’50s come back as grandparents and point them out.

Kleinschmidt joined as a candy apprentice in 2018 and within months was the only candymaker, learning every recipe. She became head confectioner, and in May 2025 she bought the shop. “I’d like to keep it going as strong as it is,” she said. “People love it the way that it is.”

KTVH lists the hours as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and tours are still offered. Get a bowl of chili at the counter and a cherry phosphate if you have room. If you’re nearby, stop in and keep them busy.