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Reflections: Some favourite Halloween treats

Halloween is fast approaching and Oct. 31 will be here before we know it.

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Trick-or-treat!

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Halloween is fast approaching and Oct. 31 will be here before we know it. It’s a night for children to dress up in ghoulish or character-themed costumes, going door to door in hopes of getting a tasty treat. This image from the Stratford-Perth Archives, appeared in the Oct. 27, 1966, edition of the Stratford Beacon Herald. It shows a house on St. Vincent Street South set up for Halloween and waiting the arrival of trick-or-treaters.

The custom of handing out food or treats on Halloween was started to mollify malevolent spirits. It was thought that the souls of the dead would knock on doors and food was given out to them, consisting mostly of apples and nuts. If those souls knocked and nothing was given out, then they would curse or haunt the homes of those people.

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Today, there is an abundance of candy produced for Halloween. Unlike souls of the dead, kids show up with pillowcases, bags or plastic pumpkins to collect their goods. At the end of the night, whatever you carry your treats in, it gets turned upside down and the hunt is on to see what you received. Chips, pop and full-sized candy bars are popular hopes. Sorting will then take place followed by trading with a brother, sister or friend, with parents keeping a careful eye on things and maybe trying to grab a few pieces for themselves.

Some treats that may be favourites, but have existed for many years, are still handed out, including:

Apples: This fruit has been associated with Halloween for a long time, and you can usually find one in the bottom of your bag at the end of the night. But there is another sweet treat made with an apple that also became a popular Halloween favourite, and that is the candy apple. Candy apples first appeared in Newark, N.J., in 1908 and were made by candy maker William W. Kolb. The candy apple came about when Kolb was experimenting with red cinnamon candy to sell at Christmas. He dipped the apples in the red glaze and displayed them in the windows of his shop. He believed this was a great way to showcase his new confection. They grew in popularity, not just at Christmas but at Halloween. The trend took off in the early 1900s and remained a popular treat into the 1970s. Today, some people still hand them out, but their popularity has waned.

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Candy corn: These yellow, orange and white treats are said to have been invented some time in the 1880s. Made of sugar, corn syrup and wax, they may have been invented by candy maker George Renninger, who worked at the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia. But it was the Goelitz Candy Company, now known as the Jelly Belly Candy Company, that popularized the candy. They procured the recipe in 1898 and started marketing the candy under the name “chicken feed.” It was only called “chicken feed” as a marketing ploy because, prior to to the First World War, many did not really consider corn to be people food. And in the farming communities, they wanted to market agriculture-themed candy. As the years progressed, and Halloween and trick-or-treating became more popular, this candy took off and became associated with this day.

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Molasses kisses: You either love them or hate them, but this candy in the iconic orange and black wrapper has been being sold by Kerr’s for more than 75 years. This candy company originated in Canada and was started by Edward and Albert Kerr, Scottish immigrants, in 1895. In the 1940s, Kerr’s started to produce this unique candy made with molasses. They continue to produce this candy using the original recipe and production has increased each year to meet the increasing demand.

Rockets: This candy is most popular in Canada and was originally known as Smarties. This candy was first made after the First World War in England. They were made using a repurposed gunpowder pellet machine. At some point in the 1940s, the candy maker Edward Dee immigrated to New Jersey and continued to make his candy there. In 1963, production started in Canada in a factory on Queen Street West in Toronto. They are called Rockets here in Canada to avoid confusion with candy-coated chocolate Smarties, but still are called Smarties in the United States.

Enjoy your favourite treat and have a safe and Happy Halloween!

The Stratford-Perth Archives is open for in-person research by appointment. Service by phone and email remains an option. Please contact us to set up appointments to use the collections or to meet with the archivist to discuss possible donations of archival material. We can be reached at 519-271-0531 ext. 259 or archives@perthcounty.ca.

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