Curtiss Candy Company
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Portsmouth_-_Post_Office_and_General_Store_-_inside_-_01_cropped.jpg/220px-Portsmouth_-_Post_Office_and_General_Store_-_inside_-_01_cropped.jpg)
The Curtiss Candy Company was founded in 1916 by Otto Schnering near Chicago, Illinois. Wanting a more "American-sounding" name (due to anti-German sentiment during World War I), Schnering named his company using his mother's maiden name.
Their first confectionery item was Kandy Kake, later refashioned in 1920 as the log-shaped Baby Ruth.[1] Their second confectionery item was the chocolate-covered peanut butter crunch Butterfinger, which was introduced in 1926.[2] In 1931, Curtiss marketed the brand by sponsoring famous air racer, John H. Livingston, in the Baby Ruth Aerobatic Team flying the air-racer Howard "Mike" at airshows, and sponsoring Livingston's Monocoupe racer in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race.[3][4] The Jolly Jack candy was included in army rations during World War II.[5]
In 1964, Standard Brands purchased Curtiss Candy Company. Standard Brands merged with Nabisco in 1981. In 1990, RJR Nabisco sold the Curtiss brands to Nestlé.
The Baby Ruth / Butterfinger factory, built in the 1960s, is located at 3401 Mt. Prospect Rd. in Franklin Park, Illinois. Interstate 294 curves eastward around the plant, where a prominent, rotating sign, resembling a gigantic candy bar, is seen. It originally read "Curtiss Baby Ruth" on one side and "Curtiss Butterfinger" on the other. It was changed to read "Nestlé" following the acquisition.
A "Curtiss Baby Ruth" sign was on an apartment building across from Wrigley Field for several decades.[6][7] Wrigley and the Curtiss plant are both on Addison Street, although more than 10 miles apart.
Curtiss products over the years[]
In the early decades, Curtiss had a wide variety of candies aside from Baby Ruth and Butterfinger.
Candies[]
- Baby Ruth suckers
- Better Creams
- Curtiss Butterscotch
- Buy Golly
- Buy Jiminy
- Caramel Nougat
- Caramel Smackers
- Cherry Pattie
- Chocolate Almond Nougat
- Chocolate Dipper Mallows
- Chocolate Dipped Nut Butter Pillows
- Chocolate suckers
- Coconut Grove
- Curtiss Nut Roll
- Dip
- Easy Aces
- Foxxy
- Gypsy
- Jolly Jack
- Kandy Kake
- Koko Nut Roll
- Man-O-War
- Milk Nut Loaf
- Moon Spoon
- Nickaloaf
- Penny Log
- Peppermint Patty
- Royal Marshmallows
- Safe-T-Pops
- Taffee Giraffee
- Topper
- Wild Cherry suckers
Bite-sized candies[]
- Butterfinger Chips
- Caramel Nougats
- Coconut Niblets
- Dip-Bits*
- Milk Caramels
- Mint Patties
- Nuggets
Drop and mint flavors[]
- Assorted Fruit
- Butterscotch
- Chlorophyll
- Chocolate
- Grape
- Lemon
- Lime
- Orange
- Peppermint
- Root Beer
- Spearmint
- Wild Cherry
- Wintergreen
Gum flavors[]
- Baby Ruth Peppermint
- Baby Ruth Fruit flavored
- Bubble Chum
- Chlorophyll
- Hawaiian Fruit
- Peppermint
- Pepsin
- Spearmint
Miracle-Aid flavors[]
(This was a competitor to Kool-Aid)
- Cherry
- Grape
- Lemon Lime
- Orange
- Raspberry
- Strawberry
References[]
- ^ Smith, A.F. (2012). Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat. Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of what We Love to Eat. ABC-CLIO. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-0-313-39393-8. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ Batchelor, B. (2008). American Pop: Popular Culture Decade by Decade. Non-Series. ABC-CLIO. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-313-36411-2. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ Dennis Hoffman. "Winged Passion Iowa Aviation Legends". The Iowan.
- ^ Sport Aviation. April 1959.
- ^ Chmelik, Samantha. "Otto Y. Schnering." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 4, edited by Jeffrey Fear. German Historical Institute. Last modified April 04, 2013.
- ^ Johnson, S. (2008). Chicago Cubs Yesterday & Today. MVP Books. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7603-3246-7. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ Wrigley Field. Potomac Books. 2006. p. 254. ISBN 978-1-61234-411-9. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
Further reading[]
- The Great American Candy Bar Book (ISBN 0-395-32502-1)
- Food and drink companies established in 1916
- Food and drink companies disestablished in 1990
- Defunct companies based in Illinois
- Confectionery companies of the United States
- 1916 establishments in Illinois
- 1990 disestablishments in Illinois
- Franklin Park, Illinois
- 1990 mergers and acquisitions