Candy Making is King in Central Pennsylvania Story by David J. Morrison Photos submitted
ennsylvania has the distinction of consuming more candy per capita than any other state. So says Janet Richey, longtime proprietor of a successful candy store in Newburyport, MA who, until her recent retirement, annually attended a national trade show in Philadelphia which laid claim to that superlative. This makes sense in several ways. Pennsylvania has long been deemed the “Snack Food Capital of America” for its many producers of salty as well as sweet snacks. Chocolate making became dominant in Central Pennsylvania because of its thriving dairy industry noted for its sweet-tasting milk (which Milton Hershey discovered turned bitter-tasting pure chocolate into the tasty milk chocolate that is universally enjoyed today). And, in addition to Mr. Hershey, there were numerous other Pennsylvanians who successfully experimented, invented, manufactured, and marketed a bountiful array of unique, popular, and enduring candy products. As Valentine’s Day approaches, we naturally focus on candy (which has crowded store shelves since the day after Christmas), and indeed this story focuses on Central Pennsylvania candy-making. But first, an obligatory history lesson: This candy-centric February 14 holiday and its October 31 rival, Halloween, are both rooted in religious history. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century bishop in the Roman
P
6 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2024
Empire who ministered to persecuted Christians, for which he was ultimately executed by Emperor Claudius on February 14, 269 AD. It is said that that the daughter of the judge who imprisoned him had a secret crush on him, and as he was led to his execution, he sent her a note “from your Valentine,” an expression of love that endures today via the greeting card industry. Whitman’s Samplers Candy-making in America can be traced to colonial times. As an industry, it dates to the pre-Civil-War era. One of the earliest – and still popular – brands is Whitman’s Chocolates, founded in Philadelphia in 1842 by Stephen F. Whitman, who at age 19 got his start selling sugar plums to sailors on the Delaware River water-
front. In 1877, relocated to Philadelphia’s retail epicenter at 12th & Market Streets, he began marketing assorted chocolates, initially in tin boxes. With advances in cardboard box-making in the early 20th century, in 1912 he introduced the iconic “Whitman’s Sampler,” whose distinctive yellow box evokes antique Pennsylvania Dutch needlework samplers. The Whitman’s Chocolate brand today is owned by its former archrival, Kansas City-based Russell Stover. Nevertheless, the Sampler lives on, albeit in a much-simplified yellow box. A bright red heart-shaped version of Whitman’s Sampler appears on shelves each year in advance of Valentine’s Day. Another venerable Pennsylvania brand, Wilbur Chocolate Company, founded in Philadelphia by Henry
Matangos Candies is renowned for its handmade chocolate Easter Bunnies, a Harrisburg favorite for more than 60 years.