Halloween is almost here. Getting to dress up in costumes is only part of the holiday fun. Because let’s face it, Halloween is also about the candy. Did you know that a lot of the candy that fills trick-or-treaters’ buckets has a history in Chicago?
Tootsie Rolls, M&Ms, Snickers, Brach’s, Wrigley, Lemonheads, Red Hots, Baby Ruths, Butterfingers, Jolly Ranchers, Milk Duds, Cracker Jack, the list goes on and on. These candies and many more are Chicago products. Even Hershey owes its start to Chicago, since it was at the1893 Chicago World’s Fair that Milton Hershey got the idea to start his own chocolate company. Chicago has long been known as the Candy Capital of the World, having been throughout most of its history the producer of one third of all the candy made in the United States.
Learn more about Chicago’s delicious history in the book Chicago’s Sweet Candy History, by Leslie Goddard. You can also find more histories of candy here in the MVCC Library collection.