The tasty baked snack food that we know as the pretzel had its origin in southern Europe about 610 AD. The first pretzels were soft pretzels. These dough treats were given to the children as rewards for learning their prayers. The familiar shape of a twisted pretzel represents arms crossed over the chest in prayer. Pretiola (as they were called back then) means “little rewards” in Latin. In 1946 Marriott D. “Tom” Sturgis, grandson of Julius, founded the Tom Sturgis Pretzel Company after spending years learning pretzel baking from family members. In time Marriott’s son, Tom joined the company and now Tom’s son, Bruce has taken a place at Tom Sturgis Pretzels. Five generations of pretzel baking has made the Sturgis family the “First Family of Pretzels.”
