| KING STILL RIDING OUT STORM | ||||
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Direct hit from Hurricane Ike adversely affects Top Fuel racer Mitch King 
La King's before Hurricane Ike struck Galveston leaving the island like a war zone.
King hopes the business will be up and running by the Christmas season. La King's Confectionery provided visitors a trip to a bygone era. La King's featured a 1920's soda fountain, serving malts, shakes, ice cream sodas, sundaes, splits, floats and your favorite fountain drinks. They proudly make and serve "Purity" ice cream, Texas' first ice cream manufacturer, since 1889, was founded on Galveston Island. La King's master candy maker thrives in old time specialties - peanut brittle, divinity, pecan pralines, hand dipped chocolates, fudges, and salt water taffy made right before the customer on antique equipment. “Obviously it won’t be up to full capacity because of the large amount of equipment we had on the first floor,” King said. “All of that equipment that made ice cream and candy was destroyed. It’s all junk.” King rode out the storm in the top floor of the building which he proudly proclaims “had been through all of the storms since 1869.” “It did really well,” King said. “There was no damage, no roof leaks or any of that. All the windows remained intact and I felt real safe there. There was 12 feet of water outside of the store.” The experience of riding out a hurricane and the after effects is nothing he cares to make a regular experience. “Long and slow,” King said, of the experience of riding out the storm. “We were trapped in the building and it took about 15 or 16 hours for the water to go down enough just to wade out of there.”
This beautiful view is now submerged under ocean water.
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For as long as Mitch King has been drag racing, he’s been bringing his fellow racers candy, most notably taffy, to the drag races as a goodwill gesture. That practice has been temporarily halted as King was one of those displaced by Hurricane Ike. 
