Candy is dandy.....

The father of all things good and chocolaty, Milton Hershey, was born on this date back in 1857. He is the man behind Hershey chocolate. As a chocolate lover, that makes him a legend in my book. If you know anything about the Hershey Corporation, you know that there are many reasons why Mr. Hershey was, and still is, a legend. One of the most notable is the fact that Mr. Hershey always put the quality of his chocolate products and the well-being of his employees above his profits. He established schools, scholarships and lots of opportunities for growth and prosperity for his employees and those who lived in Hershey, Pennsylvania. These are things the company strives to uphold today. Some years ago I approached a few candy companies about making donations so that I could delivery candy at a nearby children's hospital on Halloween to the kids who weren't able to go trick-or-treating that night. Hershey Corporation was the only company to respond and they sent cases of Hershey chocolate bars. They made many kids happy that day. Milton was a good man and started a good company with a good heart. Happy birthday, Mr. Hershey!

Don't we all have candy memories? I remember as a kid walking to the 7-11 a few streets over to buy a handful of candy. It was cheap at that time so a couple of bucks would buy quite a few pieces. Not much would be left by the time I got back home! Or that 5lb box of Russell Stovers candy that my Dad would always buy my Mom on their wedding anniversary. She would have maybe a piece or two and the rest of us would polish off what was left. I do remember getting in trouble in Mrs. Starritts' 6th grade class because she caught me with Now and Laters in her class. She confiscated 'em and I didn't much like her after that! lol....

Last year when Cassie and I went to visit the grandparents in Florida, we went to the Disney Marketplace and into Goofy's Candy Company. It is candy heaven where you grab a bag and open the bottom of those massive clear canisters and let the candy fall into your bag. Cassie got gummy worms and I picked out taffy and some sugarfree chocolate covered raisins. We don't eat candy that much anymore, so doing this felt totally bad and good all at the same time. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the marketplace snacking on candy and getting all hopped up on sugar.....it was such fun afternoon that we talk about still. Sweet, sweet memories....so to speak.