It's that time of year when advertisements are hijacked by back-to-school preparations, and the first hint of autumn starts to creep in. People are getting their last swimming pool licks (hopefully not literally), and season-ending vacations are in full swing. And with kids getting ready for the big trip back to college, now's a great time to start planning that first week delivery of Village Candy's Student Survival Kit. It's a great reminder they're loved, and sure remedy for homesickness.

Who doesn't remember agonizing with anticipation over the 1st day of school. Choosing just the right pants and shirt, getting a new haircut, and possibly new shoes. I remember when mine had buckles (shoes, not hair)! All the cool notebooks, pens/pencils, binders and bookcovers. And trying to find out which of your friends were in your class.

 

And no 1st day was EVER complete without a new, cool lunchbox! Well Village Candy has your supply of envy-inducing, retro candy lunchboxes. They're made out of durable metal, and have all the space you need to pack your pb&j, chips, carrot sticks and, of course, dessert candy. Beats the brown bag any day!

Village Candy again has the coveted Vanilla Tootsie Roll "Midgees" back in stock!

Leo Hirschfeld, an Austrian immigrant, started his candy business in 1896 in a small New York City shop. He wanted a "chewy" candy that would not melt easily, and would be an economical alternative to traditional chocolates. His daughter, Clara "Tootsie" Hirschfeld, provided the candy's name. Production moved to a five-story factory by 1905. The company changed its name to The Sweets Company of America in 1917. The Tootsie Pop - a lollipop with Tootsie Roll filling - was invented in 1931. Its low price made it popular during the Depression. Tootsie Rolls became a standard part of American soldiers' field rations during World War II, due to the hardiness of the candy under a variety of environmental conditions.

In 1935, the company was in serious difficulty, and it changed owners. The new owner was able to steadily increase sales and restore profits, changing the formula of the Tootsie Roll and increasing its size, moving from Manhattan to a much larger plant in Hoboken, New Jersey, and guiding the company successfully through the difficult war years during which vital raw materials were in short supply. When the new owner died in 1948, he had increased the sales volume twelvefold. In 1966, the company adopted its current name of Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.

The company has acquired several famous brands such as The Candy Corporation of America's Mason Division (1972), Cellas' Confections (1985), The Charms Company (1988), The Warner-Lambert Company (1993), Andes Candies (2000) and Concord Confections (2004).

Tootsie Roll Industries is one of the largest candy manufacturers in the world. According to the company website, the original (and still current) recipe calls for the inclusion of the previous day's batch. "As such, there's (theoretically) a bit of Leo's very first Tootsie Roll in every one of the sixty four million Tootsie Rolls that Tootsie produces each day."

 

Vanilla Cow Tale Minis

 

Village Candy now offers Mini Cow Tales at "by the pound" prices.

Goetze's Candy (pronounced gets) had its start in 1895, as the Baltimore Chewing Gum Company. It was founded by August Goetze and his son.The family developed a soft caramel candy in 1917 (known as "Chu-ees"), which ultimately became their signature - Caramel Creams (also known as Bull's Eyes) - a soft chewy caramel with cream filling in the center.

In addition to its signature caramel candy, the company also makes a different style of this classic, known as Cow Tales. Cow Tales are similar to Caramel Creams, but in the form of a long, thin cylinder of soft caramel with a cream center. In addition to the minis, Village Candy also offers full sized Cow Tales in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry and Caramel Apple.

Over the years, Goetze experimented with a number of flavors, such as peanut butter and banana. 

The top selling frozen novelty ice cream is now a candy - Klondike Caramel and Mint Chocolate Chip Bars. The Caramel has a creamy caramel center covered in a milk chocolate flavored coating, and the Mint contains an invigorating mint center with mint chocolate chips inside, covered in dark chocolate flavored coating. You'd swear you were eating Klondike frozen treats!

The Klondike bar was created by the Isaly Dairy Company of Mansfield, Ohio in the early 20s and named after the Klondike River of Alaska/Canada. Rights to the name were eventually sold to Good Humor-Breyers, part of Unilever. It's known for its jingle slogan, "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?"

The first recorded advertisement for the Klondike was on February 5, 1922 in the Youngstown Vindicator. The bars are generally wrapped with a silver-colored wrapper, upon which the mascot for the brand, a polar bear, appears. The Klondike Bar was the first created ice cream bar with Good Humor taking the idea and adding a handle or stick to become the first ice cream bar on a stick.

uiz Time: How many candy can you even think of that begin with a "Q?" Not an easy task. And since this is the second time through the alphabet for this game, I'm cheating here by using the same one I used last time. So there obviously is one (and only one, I do declare).

Try to come up (on your own) with the name of this candy, and submit your guess in an email to candyalphabet@villagecandy.com. We'll magic marker all entries in on jelly beans, put them all in our mouth, and spit out one winner. We'll publish that winning name in next month's newsletter, and maybe it'll be you. But you MUST keep your fingers crossed. Then you can come pick up your fabulous prize.

Last month's correct answer was Pixy Stix, and it was submitted by Kristin Falvo. Come in and hound us until we cough up a prize for you!

Village Candy is an old-time, new-fangled retail shop specializing in a unique selection of retro and current bulk and novelty candy, artisan chocolates, glass-bottled pop and candy-themed gifts. Oh, and remember customer service? It's back!

We are here Tuesday thru Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, but on Wednesday we stay late until 8! We are closed Sunday and Monday.