The Sweetest Thing
Like so many things today – professional baseball, airplane flights, and astronauts – Sweetest Day, a day devoted to sharing and enjoying candy, got its start Ohio.
In Cleveland of all places.
In 1916, the National Confectioner’s Association developed a “candy day” in an attempt to, what else, promote candy sales. But before candy day could find its sweet spot, the sugar shortage of WWI ended any subsequent celebrations
Enter Herbert Birch Kingston. In 1921 the Cleveland advertising executive took another look at candy. He decided to change the reason behind candy day, viewing it as an opportunity to bring treats to the lonely and underprivileged. With the help of other Cleveland confectioners Kingston created a new holiday.
On that Sweetest Day (held on Oct. 10), 20,000 boxes of candy were given to “newsboys, orphans, old folks, and the poor” according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Helping with the distribution was one of the world’s biggest movie stars – and Cincinnati native – Theda Bara.
In the following decades, Sweetest Day continued to be a mostly regional holiday centered on making the day a little brighter for children, with candy regularly given away to children’s charities and hospitals.
Of course, today, we often think of Sweetest Day as a “Hallmark holiday,” designed to make you feel bad if you forget it. But perhaps this year is a good time to go back to basics. Whether you cheer up a friend with a candy bar, surprise your beloved with a box of chocolates, or drop off bag of Halloween candy a little early to hospital workers.
Couldn’t we all use a little more sweetness right about now?
Luckily, we have a number of options in Theda Bara’s hometown to make your shopping easy for this Sweetest Day, Saturday, Oct. 16.
Graeter’s
Multiple locations
www.graeters.com
Best known for ice cream, the Graeter family has been creating treats since 1870. Members of the third, fourth, and fifth generation currently work in the business. Along with their roster of signature French Pot ice cream, you can find Perfect Indulgence, their new vegan frozen dessert, fruit sorbets, and delicious seasonal flavors. To keep it authentic for Sweetest Day, you can also find a variety of chocolate candies to give as gifts while you’re ordering your black raspberry chip cone. (Oprah’s favorite!)
Aglamesis’s
Oakley Square
3046 Madison Road
Montgomery Square Shopping Centre
9899 Montgomery Road
www.aglamesis.com
Another famous candy family, Aglamesis Brothers’ rich ice creams and decadent chocolates have been delighting Cincinnatians more than a century. Lauded by The New York Times, The Food Network and Bon Appetit, entering the shop in Oakley store is like stepping back in time. Plus you’ll find whatever you need for Sweetest Day, from a classic assortment in a fancy box to caramels, salted caramels and their nonpareils, which truly live up to their name.
Fawn Candy Company
Roowood Pavilion
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati, OH 45208
4271 Harrison Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45211
The new kid on the block of chocolate, The Fawn Candy Company, owned and operated by the Guenther family, has been around since 1946. Selecting only the finest ingredients, Fawn Candies are always fresh, handmade daily in their candy kitchen. Along with beautifully decorated Fall cups, you’ll find seasonal dark and milk foil-coved chocolates, caramel apples, and bourbon balls plus, for that very special someone a chocolate-covered wine bottle.
– Tricia Suit