About Us

It all began with three hives of honey bees that Ralph Gamber bought at a Lancaster County auction for $27 in 1946. Ralph had suffered a heart attack in his early 30’s and upon the doctor’s advice, to find a hobby, he determined that keeping bees would be a great way to unwind after a stressful day at work. Ralph and his wife, Luella, who is allergic to bee stings, bottled their first honey crop in their kitchen that fall.

Dutch Gold Honey quickly outgrew the Gamber’s home and luckily an empty lot was directly across the street.  This was the site of the first Honey House, build in 1954 specifically to extract and package the growing Dutch Gold Honey brand.  Being conservative, the Gamber’s designed the building to look like a house, just in case the honey business did not work out, they could turn the building into apartments.

Sitting around the dinner table in 1957, Ralph and Luella Gamber were entertaining Rita and Woodrow Miller, who also packaged honey in their home state of California.  The conversation soon focused on finding a unique package for honey.  Given the popularity of Yogi Bear, Winnie the Pooh and teddy bears, the idea of the squeezable, plastic honey bear was born.

As the company grew, Ralph and Luella did not need to venture too far for experienced and dedicated employees.  Their son, Bill, a tool and die maker by trade, returned to the company he grew up with in 1967.  This was just the first of the three Gamber children’s return to Dutch Gold Honey.  Both daughters, Nancy and Marianne, worked in banking for several years before they joined their parents and older brother.  Bill’s wife, Kitty, a registered nurse, also found a role in the ever-expanding family business.

The original “honey house”, across the street from the Gamber’s home, had exhausted all hopes for continued expansions, and in addition, maneuvering an increasing number of tractor trailers along city streets was becoming problematic.  Dutch Gold Honey needed a new home.  A twenty-acre farm was purchased 3 miles west of downtown Lancaster, with close proximity to two major highways.  In 1974, the business moved into a new 40,000 square foot facility with its 11 full time employees.

Littleton, NH is the home of McLure’s Honey & Maple Products, a company founded by the McLure family in the 1960’s.  When the McLure family opted to follow their dreams in another direction, the Gamber’s bought the McLure brands, as the two all-natural sweeteners, honey and maple syrup seemed to fit well together.

In celebration of Dutch Gold’s 70^th anniversary, the brand gets a facelift. The Dutch Gold logo was refreshed with a modern look paying homage to its Lancaster County heritage.  The labels, updated with new imagery and a contemporary white background, continue to focus on the flower blossoms from which nectar, the raw material of honey, originates.  While the brand has undergone some updates, the Dutch Gold name represents the same great quality honey as before.