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September 02, 2005

It's No Baloney, It's All Candy!

Recent diggings through the family clippings and boxes of sundry treasures led to the rediscovery of a clip from a newspaper from about 1972, concerning my grandfather's candy making prowess at his old shop in Russells Point called Ye Olde Candy Shoppe.

You see, my grandfather hit upon the idea of making candy... in the form of sundry meats (bologna, sausage, salami, bratwurst, etc.) And I assure you, its all true (see pictures below). It seems our family was on a personal mission to defeat the food pyramid on behalf of all children.

If you can imagine it, the cocanut candy bratwurst, sausages, etc. were quite popular at the regional fairs. People of the time were quite intruiged by the candy sweetness found in the seemingly normal meaty fair.

This first picture is of my grandfather, John R. Franz, as he preps some candy for sale and messes about the shop The second is of my oldest Uncle, John M. Franz, at 15, as he hangs bologna shaped candy to harden (later to be food colored with coconut to give a meaty texture and appearance.)

The candy was cooked in in copper kettles holding 35 to 85 pounds. After hardening, it is shaped into cheese, hamburger, wieners, sandwiches, saurkraut, etc. The candy usually sold for about $1.25/pound. (Confidentially, the wraps for making the sausage formed candy were actual casings, and we all know what those are, cackle).

My uncles (Tony (12), John M. (15) and Harry (15)) all worked at the candy shoppe while they were still living in Ohio. Gotta love cheap, live-in slave labour.

Posted by Ravennacht at September 2, 2005 10:20 PM Posted to Family Matters