Curtiss Candy Company
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The Curtiss Candy Company was an American confectionery brand and a former company based in Chicago, Illinois. It 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.<ref name="Smith 2012">Template:Cite book</ref> Their second confectionery item was the chocolate-covered peanut butter crunch Butterfinger, which was introduced in 1926.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Sport Aviation. April 1959.</ref> The Jolly Jack candy was included in army rations during World War II.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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 giant candy bar, is visible. 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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
- Baby Ruth (1921-1981)
- Butterfinger (1923-1964)
- 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
- Chocolate
- Grape
- Lemon
- Lime
- Orange
- Peppermint
- Root Beer
- Spearmint
- Wild Cherry
- Wintergreen
Gum flavors
- Baby Ruth Peppermint
- Baby Ruth Fruit flavored
- Bubble Chum
- Hawaiian Fruit
- Peppermint
- Pepsin
- Spearmint
Miracle-Aid flavors
(This was a competitor to Kool-Aid)
- Cherry
- Grape
- Lemon Lime
- Orange
- Raspberry
- Strawberry
References
Further reading
- The Great American Candy Bar Book (Template:ISBN)
- Pages with broken file links
- 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