1 00:00:01,340 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,430 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey. 3 00:00:14,730 --> 00:00:19,450 Speaker 1: And I'm Tracy V. Wilson. It's Halloween time. We're doing 4 00:00:19,489 --> 00:00:22,770 Speaker 1: a Halloween edition of Eponymous Foods. And what that means 5 00:00:22,790 --> 00:00:26,450 Speaker 1: is candy bars. Yeah. This one is a little bit 6 00:00:26,970 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: caveated because... Most candy bars are named for the person 7 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: who invented them and ran the company that produced them. 8 00:00:35,580 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 1: So it's not that thrilling. Not a lot of surprises, 9 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,459 Speaker 1: although their stories about them are often very interesting. There 10 00:00:42,500 --> 00:00:44,870 Speaker 1: is one little surprise in the mix that just tickles 11 00:00:44,909 --> 00:00:47,449 Speaker 1: me to no end. But just know you're going to 12 00:00:47,510 --> 00:00:50,989 Speaker 1: recognize almost all of these names. And two of today's 13 00:00:51,310 --> 00:00:54,950 Speaker 1: eponymous candy bars are very closely related. That is a 14 00:00:55,130 --> 00:00:58,750 Speaker 1: family story. which also includes some other candies that are 15 00:00:58,770 --> 00:01:01,370 Speaker 1: going to be familiar to listeners. And I guess if 16 00:01:01,390 --> 00:01:03,290 Speaker 1: you really wanted to bend the rules, you could say 17 00:01:03,310 --> 00:01:06,830 Speaker 1: there is also an eponymous one in there. Really, the 18 00:01:06,870 --> 00:01:09,410 Speaker 1: whole episode, though, is about family stories. It's kind of 19 00:01:09,470 --> 00:01:14,660 Speaker 1: like two different family stories. One features two candy bars 20 00:01:15,220 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: that are eponymous, and one features another. I'm saving my 21 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: very favorite for the last one. And to be frank... 22 00:01:23,510 --> 00:01:26,429 Speaker 1: There were several candy companies all getting their start in 23 00:01:26,450 --> 00:01:29,789 Speaker 1: the early part of the 20th century that still dominate 24 00:01:29,830 --> 00:01:33,050 Speaker 1: the industry. So this is in some ways also an 25 00:01:33,209 --> 00:01:36,890 Speaker 1: origin story of the U.S. candy trade. We'll start with 26 00:01:37,140 --> 00:01:40,020 Speaker 1: Franklin Clarence Mars, who was born on September 24th, 1883 27 00:01:40,020 --> 00:01:47,350 Speaker 1: in Glenwood, Minnesota. Some accounts say he was born in Hancock, Minnesota. 28 00:01:47,470 --> 00:01:50,690 Speaker 1: That's a little more than 27 miles west of Glenwood. 29 00:01:51,270 --> 00:01:54,890 Speaker 1: And then others say that it was in nearby Newport, Minnesota. 30 00:01:55,610 --> 00:02:00,300 Speaker 1: You might even see other neighboring towns cited as well. 31 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: It's just a little fuzzy. His parents were farmers, and 32 00:02:05,140 --> 00:02:09,150 Speaker 1: as a child, Frank had polio, which kept him indoors 33 00:02:09,270 --> 00:02:13,700 Speaker 1: instead of outside helping to run the farm. While he 34 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: was inside with polio, his mother taught him to make candy, 35 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:23,880 Speaker 1: specifically hand-dipped chocolate, but also other confections. And this often 36 00:02:23,940 --> 00:02:27,400 Speaker 1: comes up as what really ignited Frank's interest in candy. 37 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,510 Speaker 1: And at the age of 19, Frank Mars took over 38 00:02:31,530 --> 00:02:35,750 Speaker 1: a candy distribution company in Minnesota. That was a wholesale 39 00:02:35,850 --> 00:02:39,750 Speaker 1: operation that was called Taylor's Molasses Chips, and it provided 40 00:02:39,870 --> 00:02:44,470 Speaker 1: candy stock to shops in Minneapolis. Also in that same year, 41 00:02:44,530 --> 00:02:48,270 Speaker 1: which was 1902, Frank got married to a schoolteacher named 42 00:02:48,430 --> 00:02:51,470 Speaker 1: Ethel G. Kissick, and the couple had a son named 43 00:02:51,590 --> 00:02:56,410 Speaker 1: Forrest Edward Mars in March of 1904. Ethel and Frank 44 00:02:56,430 --> 00:02:59,610 Speaker 1: did not stay married. It's not clear when they divorced, 45 00:02:59,730 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: but it was sometime before 1910 or maybe in early 1910. 46 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: Their son Forrest went to Canada to live with his 47 00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: grandparents after the divorce. That year, Frank married his second wife, 48 00:03:12,690 --> 00:03:17,050 Speaker 1: another Ethel. This time it was Ethel Veronica Healy. They're 49 00:03:17,070 --> 00:03:19,810 Speaker 1: believed to have gotten married in Washington State, but this 50 00:03:19,889 --> 00:03:24,780 Speaker 1: is another instance where there's just not a specific available. 51 00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:28,980 Speaker 1: The two of them were mentioned as having eloped in 52 00:03:28,980 --> 00:03:32,500 Speaker 1: 1910 in one of Frank's obituaries. We do know that 53 00:03:32,540 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: whether it was before or after the marriage, Frank Mars 54 00:03:35,820 --> 00:03:41,300 Speaker 1: moved to Tacoma, Washington. There, in 1911, he started making 55 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: buttercream candy in his kitchen and selling it. Just in 56 00:03:44,980 --> 00:03:46,820 Speaker 1: case you don't know what that is, that's kind of 57 00:03:46,860 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: like the, it's not a nougat, but it's a similar texture, 58 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:55,030 Speaker 1: like a little buttery and confectioner's sugar and usually additives 59 00:03:55,070 --> 00:03:58,029 Speaker 1: that flavor it inside of a candy shell. You've had 60 00:03:58,070 --> 00:04:03,090 Speaker 1: these if you had any, like, samplers of candies. Really, though, 61 00:04:03,390 --> 00:04:06,550 Speaker 1: ethyl was kind of the driving force behind how this 62 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: little business worked. And when we say driving, I mean 63 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: that kind of literally. Because she managed to acquire a 64 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:17,510 Speaker 1: car to drive around selling candy while Frank stayed home 65 00:04:17,650 --> 00:04:21,110 Speaker 1: and kept up production. And that was actually pretty significant 66 00:04:21,250 --> 00:04:27,289 Speaker 1: because there were an estimated... 93,863,000 people in the U.S. 67 00:04:27,589 --> 00:04:34,469 Speaker 1: in 1911, and only 619,500 of them had registered vehicles. 68 00:04:34,550 --> 00:04:39,540 Speaker 1: So that was about 0.66% of the population. So Ethel 69 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,520 Speaker 1: being able to get a car and travel around Tacoma 70 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,300 Speaker 1: to distribute all of their candies would have been a 71 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: very significant factor in their reach and thus their success. 72 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:51,719 Speaker 1: And in a very short period of time, the candy 73 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,799 Speaker 1: was in pretty high demand. However, Frank was not especially 74 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:00,220 Speaker 1: good at managing the business, and eventually he went bankrupt. 75 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:05,670 Speaker 1: In 1920, Frank moved back to Minnesota, specifically to Minneapolis, 76 00:05:05,700 --> 00:05:08,810 Speaker 1: to start a candy company there called the Nugget House. 77 00:05:09,950 --> 00:05:12,230 Speaker 1: Even though this was a company, it was still a 78 00:05:12,270 --> 00:05:16,570 Speaker 1: really small operation. The starting capital was just $ 400, and 79 00:05:16,610 --> 00:05:20,550 Speaker 1: the factory was just one room. One of the Nugget 80 00:05:20,580 --> 00:05:24,790 Speaker 1: House's products was the Patricia Bar, named for his daughter 81 00:05:24,850 --> 00:05:28,349 Speaker 1: with his second wife. And then over time, the company 82 00:05:28,410 --> 00:05:33,650 Speaker 1: name changed to Morrow Bar. In 1923, Frank Mars and 83 00:05:33,690 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: his son Forrest had a discussion that involved the idea 84 00:05:38,180 --> 00:05:42,060 Speaker 1: of a malted milk candy bar. So according to Forrest's 85 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:44,820 Speaker 1: version of the story, they were having malted milks at 86 00:05:44,860 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: a drugstore counter when Forrest said, why don't you put 87 00:05:49,140 --> 00:05:53,820 Speaker 1: a chocolate-malted drink in a candy bar? Forrest was as 88 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:57,989 Speaker 1: surprised as anyone when Frank did just that. The idea 89 00:05:58,110 --> 00:06:02,290 Speaker 1: manifested as the Milky Way. The Milky Way was so 90 00:06:02,370 --> 00:06:05,670 Speaker 1: successful that the company needed to expand by hiring a 91 00:06:05,810 --> 00:06:09,700 Speaker 1: sales staff just to handle the huge demand from retailers. 92 00:06:10,470 --> 00:06:14,409 Speaker 1: It made a reported $ 800, 000 in the first year, so 93 00:06:14,730 --> 00:06:19,180 Speaker 1: that was a pretty wild success for 1923. Six years 94 00:06:19,300 --> 00:06:22,420 Speaker 1: after the launch of the Milky Way, Frank's company, which 95 00:06:22,460 --> 00:06:27,930 Speaker 1: had been rebranded and reorged as Mars Incorporated, moved to Chicago, Illinois. 96 00:06:28,990 --> 00:06:33,010 Speaker 1: As part of this move, Forrest also officially joined the company. 97 00:06:33,620 --> 00:06:36,220 Speaker 1: Chicago made a lot of sense for a growing company, 98 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: as there were more shipping options for distribution thanks to 99 00:06:39,700 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: the railroad access in the city. This was a really 100 00:06:43,180 --> 00:06:47,200 Speaker 1: astute move for Mars, and the company's success rapidly expanded 101 00:06:47,260 --> 00:06:50,780 Speaker 1: as they reached markets all through the United States. The 102 00:06:50,820 --> 00:06:54,940 Speaker 1: year after the move to Illinois, so 1930, the first 103 00:06:55,060 --> 00:06:57,989 Speaker 1: of our eponymous foods for today was launched, and that 104 00:06:58,490 --> 00:07:02,530 Speaker 1: was the Snickers bar. Snickers is an eponymous food because 105 00:07:02,570 --> 00:07:06,620 Speaker 1: it was named after Frank and Ethel's favorite horse. But 106 00:07:06,650 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 1: here's the thing. We don't know much about that horse. 107 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,760 Speaker 1: Even the official Snickers website says the candy was, quote, 108 00:07:13,300 --> 00:07:16,720 Speaker 1: allegedly named after a horse. And that site shows a 109 00:07:16,820 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: photo of a horse that is captioned Snickers Horse and Caretaker. 110 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,860 Speaker 1: But there's no additional context. One of the other things 111 00:07:23,940 --> 00:07:26,500 Speaker 1: I saw was that Snickers the horse actually died before 112 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: the candy hit the market. Again, there's no way to 113 00:07:30,580 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: verify it. 1930 seems like a wild time to be 114 00:07:34,780 --> 00:07:38,830 Speaker 1: launching a new product because that was during the Great Depression. 115 00:07:38,850 --> 00:07:43,090 Speaker 1: But candy is one of those products that often survives 116 00:07:43,230 --> 00:07:48,650 Speaker 1: economic downturns because it's an inexpensive treat. The Snickers bar 117 00:07:48,710 --> 00:07:54,290 Speaker 1: was five cents, and because it offered this combination of nougat, caramel, chocolate, 118 00:07:54,390 --> 00:07:58,310 Speaker 1: and peanuts, it was, like the advertising continues to mention, 119 00:07:58,590 --> 00:08:02,590 Speaker 1: pretty satisfying. And that made it really popular with pretty 120 00:08:02,630 --> 00:08:06,090 Speaker 1: much everybody. One of the advertising taglines for it in 121 00:08:06,110 --> 00:08:10,650 Speaker 1: the early days was candy at its best. That first year, 122 00:08:10,890 --> 00:08:13,540 Speaker 1: Mars Incorporated made a reported $ 26 million in sales. Yeah, I... 123 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:20,230 Speaker 1: Kept looking that up in as many places as I could, 124 00:08:20,270 --> 00:08:22,110 Speaker 1: and they all cited the same thing, so they may 125 00:08:22,130 --> 00:08:24,450 Speaker 1: have been pulling from the same source. But that's just 126 00:08:24,490 --> 00:08:28,690 Speaker 1: such a huge number during a depression for a five-cent 127 00:08:28,710 --> 00:08:33,150 Speaker 1: candy bar. But people really love Snickers, apparently. Coming up, 128 00:08:33,270 --> 00:08:35,470 Speaker 1: we are going to talk about more candy and more 129 00:08:35,550 --> 00:08:38,770 Speaker 1: eponymous candy specifically. But first, we are going to pause 130 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:52,890 Speaker 1: for a sponsor break. Following the Snickers, Mars Incorporated launched 131 00:08:52,929 --> 00:08:58,670 Speaker 1: the Three Musketeers bar, which was also hugely successful. Incidentally, 132 00:08:58,690 --> 00:09:02,470 Speaker 1: it initially came as three pieces of candy, each with 133 00:09:02,510 --> 00:09:05,650 Speaker 1: a different flavor, kind of like a Neapolitan ice cream. 134 00:09:05,870 --> 00:09:08,470 Speaker 1: One was vanilla, one was chocolate, and one was strawberry. 135 00:09:09,210 --> 00:09:12,650 Speaker 1: Thus the name Three Musketeers. I really yearn to go 136 00:09:12,690 --> 00:09:16,050 Speaker 1: back in time and have a strawberry through Musketeers. The 137 00:09:16,170 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: ongoing success of the candy business enabled Frank Mars to 138 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: acquire a lot of wealth at a time when a 139 00:09:22,300 --> 00:09:25,699 Speaker 1: lot of people were really struggling financially. And one of 140 00:09:25,740 --> 00:09:28,439 Speaker 1: the ways he spent his money was in the acquisition 141 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,830 Speaker 1: of property in Pulaski, Tennessee, to set up his own 142 00:09:31,890 --> 00:09:35,750 Speaker 1: horse farm and cattle ranch. He named that Milky Way Farm. 143 00:09:36,809 --> 00:09:40,350 Speaker 1: His purchases of adjoining land to the original plot were 144 00:09:40,410 --> 00:09:43,290 Speaker 1: significant enough that they were reported in the papers, and 145 00:09:43,309 --> 00:09:45,559 Speaker 1: in just a few years, he had put together a 146 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:52,020 Speaker 1: large-scale operation. In May of 1933, the Lexington Star reported, quote, 147 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,350 Speaker 1: the Milky Way Farm is one of the most elaborate 148 00:09:55,410 --> 00:09:59,250 Speaker 1: estates in the South. In addition to thoroughbreds and trotters, Mr. 149 00:09:59,350 --> 00:10:04,450 Speaker 1: Marr maintains a great stable of show horses, breeds saddle 150 00:10:04,490 --> 00:10:08,830 Speaker 1: horses on an extensive scale, and breeds and feeds beef cattle. 151 00:10:09,830 --> 00:10:12,550 Speaker 1: He has one of the largest and strongest herds of 152 00:10:12,670 --> 00:10:16,179 Speaker 1: shorthorn cattle to be found in the country. headed by 153 00:10:16,260 --> 00:10:19,929 Speaker 1: three prize-winner bulls imported last summer from the leading herds 154 00:10:19,970 --> 00:10:23,090 Speaker 1: of England. This write-up goes on to say that the 155 00:10:23,150 --> 00:10:27,880 Speaker 1: Mars racing horses will start running on tracks in Kentucky, Tennessee, 156 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:31,460 Speaker 1: and Illinois as soon as they're ready. As Frank and 157 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,620 Speaker 1: Ethel were building their farm dreams during the early 1930s, 158 00:10:34,660 --> 00:10:39,010 Speaker 1: there was tension between Frank Mars and his son Forrest. 159 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: Forrest had not actually ever envisioned a life in the 160 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:46,710 Speaker 1: confectionery business. He had first studied mining at the University 161 00:10:46,750 --> 00:10:50,410 Speaker 1: of California, during which time he worked in the school cafeteria, 162 00:10:50,870 --> 00:10:54,290 Speaker 1: and apparently he streamlined the menu to achieve a significant 163 00:10:54,390 --> 00:10:57,230 Speaker 1: cost savings. And he did so much work in the 164 00:10:57,250 --> 00:11:00,170 Speaker 1: cafeteria that he ended up dropping many of his classes 165 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:04,380 Speaker 1: so that he could focus on administrative work there. In 166 00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:07,460 Speaker 1: the summer, he worked for Camel Cigarettes. He actually got 167 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:11,370 Speaker 1: arrested for for papering all of downtown Chicago with Camel 168 00:11:11,429 --> 00:11:14,910 Speaker 1: cigarette posters one night. That was part of a PR stunt, 169 00:11:15,250 --> 00:11:18,390 Speaker 1: and Frank had to bail him out of jail. One 170 00:11:18,450 --> 00:11:22,370 Speaker 1: account places that discussion we mentioned earlier that led to 171 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:25,829 Speaker 1: the Milky Way, where they had malted milk together, as 172 00:11:26,270 --> 00:11:30,970 Speaker 1: happening right after that bailout. Forrest later went on to 173 00:11:31,030 --> 00:11:35,560 Speaker 1: Yale to get an industrial engineering degree. Armed with the 174 00:11:35,620 --> 00:11:38,980 Speaker 1: knowledge that he gained from this education, Forrest saw a 175 00:11:39,059 --> 00:11:42,250 Speaker 1: lot of ways that his father, Frank, could improve the business. 176 00:11:43,010 --> 00:11:45,670 Speaker 1: The candy bars were good, but they didn't always turn 177 00:11:45,750 --> 00:11:49,570 Speaker 1: out consistently. That was something Forrest thought needed to be fixed. 178 00:11:50,590 --> 00:11:53,290 Speaker 1: He also felt that there wasn't enough structure to the 179 00:11:53,309 --> 00:11:56,130 Speaker 1: way the workers were managed and things tended to slip 180 00:11:56,170 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: through the cracks. And he quickly saw that there were 181 00:11:59,980 --> 00:12:03,719 Speaker 1: still problems with how his father managed the finances and 182 00:12:04,330 --> 00:12:06,970 Speaker 1: He had stayed in the black thanks to market appeal 183 00:12:07,050 --> 00:12:09,570 Speaker 1: and high sales, but he was not being very smart 184 00:12:09,670 --> 00:12:15,410 Speaker 1: about ensuring long-term fiscal stability for the company. Eventually, Forrest 185 00:12:15,429 --> 00:12:19,110 Speaker 1: just started making changes without his father's approval, and everything 186 00:12:19,170 --> 00:12:23,860 Speaker 1: at Mars Incorporated quickly became chaotic. Forrest wanted Frank to 187 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,679 Speaker 1: give him a third of the company and let him 188 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,520 Speaker 1: expand into foreign markets, but Frank refused, and in 1932, 189 00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 1: his son left. He did not leave empty-handed, though. He 190 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,380 Speaker 1: got $ 50, 000 and the rights to produce the Milky Way 191 00:12:39,420 --> 00:12:44,459 Speaker 1: bar abroad. This ultimately led to Forrest leaving for Europe. 192 00:12:45,300 --> 00:12:49,079 Speaker 1: While most accounts say that Forrest went to Britain, which 193 00:12:49,140 --> 00:12:52,580 Speaker 1: he did, he did not go straight there. He actually 194 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,400 Speaker 1: went first to Switzerland, and he worked for Nestle. There, 195 00:12:56,540 --> 00:13:00,930 Speaker 1: he learned about European confectionery, specifically chocolate. But what he 196 00:13:01,010 --> 00:13:03,530 Speaker 1: really wanted to do was build something of his own. 197 00:13:03,830 --> 00:13:06,230 Speaker 1: And that is why he moved to England, to the 198 00:13:06,290 --> 00:13:11,030 Speaker 1: industrial town of Slough, which is just west of London. There, 199 00:13:11,210 --> 00:13:14,190 Speaker 1: he developed a candy bar that was based on the 200 00:13:14,230 --> 00:13:18,689 Speaker 1: Milky Way, but a little bit sweeter. Forrest also concentrated 201 00:13:18,770 --> 00:13:22,869 Speaker 1: on using the very best ingredients to appeal to European palates. 202 00:13:23,510 --> 00:13:26,050 Speaker 1: And the flagship product that came out of this is 203 00:13:26,110 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 1: our second eponymous food, the Mars bar. While Forrest was 204 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:35,050 Speaker 1: gaining success abroad, his father was on the opposite trajectory. 205 00:13:35,890 --> 00:13:39,490 Speaker 1: According to the Frank C. Maher's entry in the Candy 206 00:13:39,530 --> 00:13:44,130 Speaker 1: Hall of Fame website, quote, Frank died in 1933 after 207 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:48,679 Speaker 1: collapsing on the floor of his Chicago factory. That's a 208 00:13:48,740 --> 00:13:51,680 Speaker 1: story that gets repeated a lot, but it doesn't appear 209 00:13:51,700 --> 00:13:55,949 Speaker 1: to be wholly accurate. At the end of 1933, Frank C. 210 00:13:55,970 --> 00:13:59,790 Speaker 1: Mars did experience a serious health decline, and that may 211 00:13:59,830 --> 00:14:03,309 Speaker 1: have started with an incident on the factory floor, although 212 00:14:03,350 --> 00:14:08,339 Speaker 1: that isn't anything that's clearly documented. On April 8, 1934, 213 00:14:08,340 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 1: Frank died in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he 214 00:14:12,100 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: had been a patient for 10 days. His cause of 215 00:14:15,220 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: death was attributed to a heart attack and kidney disease. 216 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: His close friend, William Flavin, told papers that Frank had 217 00:14:23,260 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: been ill for about five months before his death. Frank's 218 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: body was taken to his Pulaski, Tennessee, estate for burial. 219 00:14:31,820 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: The funeral was held at Milky Way Farm. Roughly 11 220 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,440 Speaker 1: years later, when the farm was sold, Frank was exhumed 221 00:14:39,620 --> 00:14:43,490 Speaker 1: and moved to a family mausoleum in Minneapolis. In the 222 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,990 Speaker 1: wake of Frank's death, his wife, Ethel, and her brother 223 00:14:47,130 --> 00:14:52,430 Speaker 1: ran the company. This continued the adversarial relationship that Forrest 224 00:14:52,470 --> 00:14:55,330 Speaker 1: had with his father, as he believed he had a 225 00:14:55,410 --> 00:14:57,980 Speaker 1: right to a stake in the company, and the family 226 00:14:58,060 --> 00:15:03,200 Speaker 1: did not agree. Incidentally, Ethel also continued running the horse 227 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,850 Speaker 1: farm and its breeding program, and their horse Galahadian won 228 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:11,489 Speaker 1: the Kentucky Derby in 1940. Forrest Mars was still in 229 00:15:11,610 --> 00:15:14,220 Speaker 1: England when his father died, but he returned to the U.S. 230 00:15:14,540 --> 00:15:17,720 Speaker 1: in 1939. And by that time, he had grown his 231 00:15:17,820 --> 00:15:22,620 Speaker 1: British-based company enormously. Not only had the Mars bar taken 232 00:15:22,780 --> 00:15:25,730 Speaker 1: off and led to additional candy offerings, but he had 233 00:15:25,790 --> 00:15:29,630 Speaker 1: also diversified the business by establishing a pet food division. 234 00:15:30,430 --> 00:15:33,230 Speaker 1: But in the U.S., he wanted to develop an idea 235 00:15:33,290 --> 00:15:36,290 Speaker 1: based on something he had seen in Europe. From the 236 00:15:36,390 --> 00:15:41,300 Speaker 1: summer of 1936 to early 1939, the Spanish Civil War 237 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 1: was playing out, and during that conflict, Forrest was traveling 238 00:15:45,740 --> 00:15:50,270 Speaker 1: in Spain, and he had met Spanish soldiers. Those soldiers 239 00:15:50,350 --> 00:15:53,810 Speaker 1: were carrying small pellets of chocolate with a candy coating 240 00:15:54,290 --> 00:15:56,750 Speaker 1: so that the chocolate would not melt in the heat. 241 00:15:57,650 --> 00:16:00,820 Speaker 1: Forrest Mars envisioned a version of this in the United States, 242 00:16:00,930 --> 00:16:03,220 Speaker 1: and that led to the development of the M & M. 243 00:16:04,230 --> 00:16:07,010 Speaker 1: which was sort of an eponymous food, at least if 244 00:16:07,030 --> 00:16:11,590 Speaker 1: you count initials. Forrest's partner in this venture was R. 245 00:16:11,670 --> 00:16:15,910 Speaker 1: Bruce Murray, whose father was William F.R. Murray, the president 246 00:16:16,070 --> 00:16:20,210 Speaker 1: of Hershey. So the M's in M & M stand 247 00:16:20,250 --> 00:16:24,470 Speaker 1: for Mars and Murray. Initially, just as the candies that 248 00:16:24,490 --> 00:16:27,630 Speaker 1: had inspired them, M & M' s were made for the military, 249 00:16:27,810 --> 00:16:31,470 Speaker 1: but soon that expanded into the consumer market. During the 250 00:16:31,510 --> 00:16:34,090 Speaker 1: same time that Forrest was offering M & Ms to 251 00:16:34,130 --> 00:16:38,890 Speaker 1: the military, Snickers became a part of U.S. soldiers' ration kits. 252 00:16:39,710 --> 00:16:41,770 Speaker 1: The same things that made it a good deal in 253 00:16:41,790 --> 00:16:44,910 Speaker 1: the recession meant that it was also good for this usage. 254 00:16:45,340 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: And because it was shipping overseas with deployed troops during 255 00:16:48,380 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 1: World War II, it also got introduced to new places. 256 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,700 Speaker 1: Whether it was just happenstance that both Snickers and M & 257 00:16:56,340 --> 00:16:59,220 Speaker 1: M' s were sold to the military, or whether it was 258 00:16:59,260 --> 00:17:02,510 Speaker 1: a competitive move by one or the other or both companies, 259 00:17:03,050 --> 00:17:04,929 Speaker 1: is a little unclear, but that did occur to me 260 00:17:04,970 --> 00:17:08,129 Speaker 1: while I was doing this research. With the success of 261 00:17:08,330 --> 00:17:12,450 Speaker 1: M & M' s, Forrest's business holdings easily surpassed anything his 262 00:17:12,550 --> 00:17:16,120 Speaker 1: father had built. After his return to the United States, 263 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:19,980 Speaker 1: he continued to have incredible success in the U.S. and 264 00:17:20,100 --> 00:17:23,869 Speaker 1: Europe for more than two decades before he managed to 265 00:17:23,940 --> 00:17:26,670 Speaker 1: acquire the thing he wanted the most, and that was 266 00:17:26,730 --> 00:17:31,790 Speaker 1: his father's company. After 30 years of back and forth 267 00:17:31,830 --> 00:17:35,070 Speaker 1: with his stepmother's family, and after Ethel had been dead 268 00:17:35,130 --> 00:17:39,189 Speaker 1: for some time, Forrest finally convinced them to sell, at 269 00:17:39,230 --> 00:17:42,270 Speaker 1: which point his company merged with the one his father 270 00:17:42,330 --> 00:17:46,729 Speaker 1: had started He completely revamped the way that things ran. 271 00:17:46,950 --> 00:17:49,860 Speaker 1: In a matter of days after the purchase, he stripped 272 00:17:49,950 --> 00:17:53,340 Speaker 1: out many of the executive amenities that he felt cost 273 00:17:53,420 --> 00:17:57,360 Speaker 1: more than they were worth. He established a core set 274 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,070 Speaker 1: of values for the company that focused on quality, efficiency, 275 00:18:01,170 --> 00:18:06,219 Speaker 1: and mutuality. he worked long hours and he expected the 276 00:18:06,300 --> 00:18:09,580 Speaker 1: same of his employees, but he also increased their pay 277 00:18:09,640 --> 00:18:14,410 Speaker 1: significantly and everybody got profit share. Yeah, he is reportedly 278 00:18:14,450 --> 00:18:16,470 Speaker 1: a person that was kind of hard to work for 279 00:18:16,550 --> 00:18:19,430 Speaker 1: because he just thought, of course, people would be fine 280 00:18:19,450 --> 00:18:23,230 Speaker 1: with working 10 and 12 hour days sometimes. But also 281 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,659 Speaker 1: he did try to take care of people. One of 282 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: the first things he did was get rid of the 283 00:18:27,220 --> 00:18:31,300 Speaker 1: executive dining room and fired all of the expensive chefs 284 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,270 Speaker 1: that they had. He was like, we don't need this, 285 00:18:33,290 --> 00:18:35,169 Speaker 1: we'll eat in the cafeteria with everybody else, which I 286 00:18:35,190 --> 00:18:37,770 Speaker 1: just think is kind of interesting. Yeah, I feel bad 287 00:18:37,830 --> 00:18:40,500 Speaker 1: for the chefs that lost their job, but also I 288 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:45,619 Speaker 1: don't think they needed to have special chefs for the executives. Right, 289 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: I think that was probably his take as well. Today, 290 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,350 Speaker 1: Mars Incorporated continues to be a private company with members 291 00:18:53,410 --> 00:18:55,830 Speaker 1: of the Mars family involved in the board of directors, 292 00:18:55,950 --> 00:18:58,510 Speaker 1: although my understanding is that none of them are in 293 00:18:58,550 --> 00:19:03,050 Speaker 1: the very active running the company positions. Its headquarters are 294 00:19:03,070 --> 00:19:06,350 Speaker 1: in McLean, Virginia, with various divisions having their own primary 295 00:19:06,450 --> 00:19:10,940 Speaker 1: offices in other locations. According to Forbes, the Mars family 296 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,980 Speaker 1: is worth $ 129 billion as of the summer of 2026, 297 00:19:15,980 --> 00:19:19,959 Speaker 1: making them the third richest family in America, per the magazine. 298 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,420 Speaker 1: We have one more eponymous candy to talk about, but 299 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:25,879 Speaker 1: first we will hear from the sponsors that keep the 300 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:41,510 Speaker 1: show going. Harry Burnett Reese was born on May 24, 1879. 301 00:19:41,510 --> 00:19:45,590 Speaker 1: His father, Aquila Asbury Reese Jr., and mother, Annie Belinda 302 00:19:45,650 --> 00:19:49,830 Speaker 1: Manifold Reese, lived in York County, Pennsylvania. And Harry, who 303 00:19:49,850 --> 00:19:53,540 Speaker 1: went by H.B., was born at home at Frosty Hill Farm. 304 00:19:54,530 --> 00:19:56,830 Speaker 1: He was an only child, and his early life was 305 00:19:56,890 --> 00:19:59,750 Speaker 1: fairly typical of a kid in a farming family. He 306 00:20:00,630 --> 00:20:03,490 Speaker 1: mostly helped his father with the crops and with the cows. 307 00:20:04,550 --> 00:20:07,399 Speaker 1: One of the things H.B. did as a kid that 308 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: was not very typical of children was building a frog pond. 309 00:20:12,100 --> 00:20:14,300 Speaker 1: At first, I thought, that sounds fine to me. If 310 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,550 Speaker 1: I was a kid, I might build a frog pond. No, 311 00:20:16,570 --> 00:20:20,230 Speaker 1: this was a for-real thing. He was breeding the frogs 312 00:20:20,590 --> 00:20:23,610 Speaker 1: in that pond. And then when they matured, he would 313 00:20:23,730 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: sell them to restaurants in the Baltimore area. So... It's 314 00:20:27,859 --> 00:20:31,000 Speaker 1: sort of an indication of how he just had a 315 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,320 Speaker 1: knack for entrepreneurialism, even as a child. And then at 316 00:20:35,340 --> 00:20:38,440 Speaker 1: the age of 21, Reese married a young woman named 317 00:20:38,540 --> 00:20:42,280 Speaker 1: Blanche Edna Heysen, who was from a much wealthier family 318 00:20:42,340 --> 00:20:46,740 Speaker 1: than his. For the next several years, H.B. worked multiple jobs, 319 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 1: sometimes several at once, in an effort to make a 320 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:53,550 Speaker 1: living that could support Blanche and a family. He continued 321 00:20:53,609 --> 00:20:57,050 Speaker 1: to work in farming and at various factory jobs when 322 00:20:57,090 --> 00:20:59,669 Speaker 1: he could get shifts. And then for several years, he 323 00:20:59,710 --> 00:21:01,990 Speaker 1: moved to Virginia to work as a manager in his 324 00:21:02,060 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: father-in-law's cannery. All of these income streams became really increasingly 325 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,780 Speaker 1: important as he and Blanche started having kids because they 326 00:21:11,820 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: seemed to be unstoppable about it. They had 16 children, 327 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:20,130 Speaker 1: 13 of which lived to adulthood. That is a huge 328 00:21:20,170 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 1: amount of kids. But in addition to that, Reese's mother 329 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,400 Speaker 1: and his two aunts moved in with them. So this 330 00:21:27,460 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 1: was a very busy home. I read one account that 331 00:21:29,570 --> 00:21:33,850 Speaker 1: said family meals were typically 20 people. And then they 332 00:21:33,869 --> 00:21:36,629 Speaker 1: would just invite people over. So often it was 40 333 00:21:36,630 --> 00:21:41,090 Speaker 1: people having dinner together every night. Wow. That was like 334 00:21:41,330 --> 00:21:44,930 Speaker 1: the size of our family Thanksgivings when I was younger 335 00:21:45,090 --> 00:21:47,489 Speaker 1: and everyone was there. But that was the thing that 336 00:21:47,530 --> 00:21:53,010 Speaker 1: happens not on a regular basis. And it's overwhelming. Yeah, 337 00:21:53,270 --> 00:21:57,490 Speaker 1: it really was. A little more than 15 years after 338 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,659 Speaker 1: he married Blanche, H.B. got a job that shifted the 339 00:22:00,700 --> 00:22:04,520 Speaker 1: trajectory of his life. He was hired by Milton Hershey. 340 00:22:05,460 --> 00:22:09,020 Speaker 1: Because Reese had a dairy background from his childhood family 341 00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:11,639 Speaker 1: farm and had worked in a dairy in the years 342 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:14,420 Speaker 1: that he was moving from job to job, he was 343 00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:17,540 Speaker 1: put in charge of running the dairies that produced the 344 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:21,740 Speaker 1: milk that Hershey was using to make chocolate bars. We're 345 00:22:21,780 --> 00:22:24,959 Speaker 1: not counting Milton Hershey and the Hershey Bar as one 346 00:22:24,980 --> 00:22:29,800 Speaker 1: of today's eponymous foods. Milton Hershey is a whole thing. 347 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,100 Speaker 1: He is on the shortlist for a full episode at 348 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:37,310 Speaker 1: some point. Reese worked for Hershey for four years before 349 00:22:37,350 --> 00:22:39,929 Speaker 1: he was laid off with other workers when some of 350 00:22:40,030 --> 00:22:44,810 Speaker 1: the dairy facilities closed down. Those facilities were considered highly 351 00:22:44,890 --> 00:22:48,149 Speaker 1: experimental at the time. They used milking machines instead of 352 00:22:48,230 --> 00:22:51,350 Speaker 1: milking the cows by hand. Yeah, they just decided that 353 00:22:51,390 --> 00:22:55,109 Speaker 1: was not worthwhile after a while, which makes me chuckle 354 00:22:55,150 --> 00:22:57,500 Speaker 1: because they had just held on a little while longer. 355 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:00,540 Speaker 1: They could have been at the forefront of dairy technology. 356 00:23:01,300 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: But after that layoff, Reese started his own candy company, 357 00:23:05,100 --> 00:23:07,880 Speaker 1: which was R & R Candy. And this was something 358 00:23:07,900 --> 00:23:10,660 Speaker 1: that Milton Hershey supported. The two men had become friends 359 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,770 Speaker 1: while they worked together. Reese's candies were mostly chocolate-covered nuts 360 00:23:15,850 --> 00:23:19,199 Speaker 1: and dried fruits. R & R, which operated out of 361 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:23,230 Speaker 1: a former cannery, struggled early on because Reese wasn't able 362 00:23:23,310 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 1: to make candy in large enough batches for distribution to retailers. 363 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 1: So it was like, your candy's good, but unless you 364 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:32,379 Speaker 1: can get us this much, we really can't place an order. 365 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:35,400 Speaker 1: So he decided he was going to reorg the company 366 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,980 Speaker 1: with the names Superior Chocolate and Confectionery and sell stock 367 00:23:40,060 --> 00:23:43,830 Speaker 1: to generate enough money to purchase machinery to address those 368 00:23:43,930 --> 00:23:47,950 Speaker 1: production issues. But that was too late, and the company 369 00:23:48,090 --> 00:23:52,709 Speaker 1: soon folded. Soon, H.B. Reese was back to taking whatever 370 00:23:52,770 --> 00:23:57,220 Speaker 1: jobs he could find mostly mill and factory work. But 371 00:23:57,340 --> 00:24:01,060 Speaker 1: in 1921, Hershey hired him again. This time he was 372 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:04,480 Speaker 1: not working in a dairy, but in the company's shipping division. 373 00:24:05,340 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: He wasn't working with candy at this job at all, 374 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: but he was working with it in his spare time 375 00:24:11,140 --> 00:24:14,419 Speaker 1: as he kept experimenting with ideas that had started to 376 00:24:14,510 --> 00:24:18,210 Speaker 1: take shape with his own failed company. He came up 377 00:24:18,250 --> 00:24:21,189 Speaker 1: with two candy bars that he named after his oldest 378 00:24:21,350 --> 00:24:25,690 Speaker 1: son and daughter, Johnny and Lizzie. He sold these bars, 379 00:24:25,770 --> 00:24:28,919 Speaker 1: and they were moderately successful, but not so much that 380 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:32,459 Speaker 1: he could leave his job at Hershey. But he did 381 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: really feel like he had something worthwhile. Before long, Reese 382 00:24:37,060 --> 00:24:40,780 Speaker 1: was convinced that he needed to try starting another candy company. 383 00:24:41,550 --> 00:24:45,910 Speaker 1: He discussed this idea with Hershey, and Hershey gave his blessing. 384 00:24:46,609 --> 00:24:49,290 Speaker 1: The two of them agreed that Reese would purchase his 385 00:24:49,410 --> 00:24:55,970 Speaker 1: chocolate from Hershey. So this was probably a mutually advantageous deal. Yeah, 386 00:24:55,990 --> 00:24:58,649 Speaker 1: I often see it categorized like it's Hershey's way to 387 00:24:58,690 --> 00:25:01,870 Speaker 1: control things and make sure he's still getting the benefit. 388 00:25:01,910 --> 00:25:04,670 Speaker 1: And he was, but at the same time, that meant 389 00:25:05,130 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: Reese didn't have to find a supplier of chocolate. He 390 00:25:08,340 --> 00:25:10,380 Speaker 1: knew the quality of the chocolate he was getting. Like, 391 00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,090 Speaker 1: there were some benefits on both sides of that. And 392 00:25:13,109 --> 00:25:15,770 Speaker 1: this new company that he started was called the H.B. 393 00:25:15,850 --> 00:25:19,580 Speaker 1: Reese Candy Company, and it opened in 1923, with the 394 00:25:19,619 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: first offerings being sampler boxes of chocolate assortments. These were 395 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,100 Speaker 1: made in the Reese's basement, and they were sold at 396 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:31,760 Speaker 1: department stores and other retailers, and they did really well. Soon, 397 00:25:31,859 --> 00:25:34,440 Speaker 1: he had to move his operation out of the family home, 398 00:25:34,550 --> 00:25:36,910 Speaker 1: and he moved it into the basement of an Italian 399 00:25:36,970 --> 00:25:40,310 Speaker 1: restaurant that was willing to rent space to him. And 400 00:25:40,350 --> 00:25:43,230 Speaker 1: he did well enough there that in 1926, he needed 401 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:47,140 Speaker 1: to build a dedicated production factory. And he also built 402 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:50,200 Speaker 1: a home for his very large family right next door 403 00:25:50,220 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: to that factory. The most popular chocolates from the assortments 404 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: were chocolate-covered peanut butter candies. So Reese started to think 405 00:25:59,020 --> 00:26:03,830 Speaker 1: about how he could expand that specific style's success. He 406 00:26:03,869 --> 00:26:06,869 Speaker 1: wanted to elevate it in some way. So he started 407 00:26:07,010 --> 00:26:10,909 Speaker 1: roasting his own peanuts and making peanut butter there at 408 00:26:10,950 --> 00:26:14,490 Speaker 1: the factory. He created one that was roasted a little longer. 409 00:26:15,050 --> 00:26:18,570 Speaker 1: It had a distinctive, deeper flavor than other peanut butters. 410 00:26:19,170 --> 00:26:22,360 Speaker 1: And then he coated that with chocolate in a fluted 411 00:26:22,470 --> 00:26:25,919 Speaker 1: cup shape. And the peanut butter cup was born. And 412 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:32,980 Speaker 1: customers loved it. Unsurprisingly. Because it's great. He was only offered, though, as... 413 00:26:33,490 --> 00:26:37,869 Speaker 1: Part of a candy assortment, not just the cups. It 414 00:26:37,910 --> 00:26:40,880 Speaker 1: was still mixed in with other stuff at that point. However, 415 00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:46,550 Speaker 1: we mentioned earlier that Frank Mars launched the Snickers in 416 00:26:46,550 --> 00:26:49,700 Speaker 1: 1930 and had great success. Reese had a little bit 417 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,940 Speaker 1: of a harder time with the Depression. He was still 418 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,200 Speaker 1: in debt for the construction of that factory in his home, 419 00:26:57,900 --> 00:27:01,380 Speaker 1: and he was a little tight on money. Things allegedly 420 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,600 Speaker 1: got tight enough at the factory that sometimes he paid 421 00:27:04,619 --> 00:27:08,160 Speaker 1: his workers in candy, which sounds fun if you're an eight-year-old, 422 00:27:08,260 --> 00:27:12,260 Speaker 1: but for an adult with bills, less so. One of 423 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: his salesmen, though, made the suggestion that ultimately kept the 424 00:27:15,270 --> 00:27:18,490 Speaker 1: company afloat. Since the peanut butter cups were the most 425 00:27:18,550 --> 00:27:22,550 Speaker 1: popular candy in their assortment boxes, that salesman suggested, why 426 00:27:22,570 --> 00:27:24,910 Speaker 1: don't we just sell these on their own? And Reese 427 00:27:24,990 --> 00:27:27,939 Speaker 1: liked the idea, and they went to market with individual 428 00:27:28,020 --> 00:27:31,280 Speaker 1: cups for a penny each. This early version was even 429 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,540 Speaker 1: called a penny cup. I saw one display of them, 430 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: and it slightly horrified me because none of them are wrapped. Oh, no. 431 00:27:38,750 --> 00:27:41,890 Speaker 1: It was just like open candy stock, which... I know 432 00:27:41,930 --> 00:27:44,780 Speaker 1: still happens for things like jelly beans and whatnot, but 433 00:27:44,910 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 1: something about open candy stock for chocolate items really wigs 434 00:27:49,380 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: me out. The Penny Cup was so popular that H.B. 435 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,900 Speaker 1: Reese started offering them in three sizes, at which point 436 00:27:56,940 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 1: they were all branded as Reese's Cups. You could get 437 00:28:01,460 --> 00:28:05,590 Speaker 1: them at the one-cent size still or a two-cent or 438 00:28:05,770 --> 00:28:09,980 Speaker 1: five-cent version. Once the Reese's Cup was on the market, 439 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: the company got on stable financial footing, and so did H.B. Reese. 440 00:28:14,420 --> 00:28:16,300 Speaker 1: I kind of like that you can still get them 441 00:28:16,380 --> 00:28:19,210 Speaker 1: in multiple sizes, even though I don't think it's a 442 00:28:19,390 --> 00:28:25,090 Speaker 1: one-to-one of how that worked initially. But the explosive popularity 443 00:28:25,109 --> 00:28:29,399 Speaker 1: of the peanut butter cup led to imitators, unsurprisingly. And 444 00:28:29,420 --> 00:28:32,180 Speaker 1: this led also to a lot of litigious back and forth, 445 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,220 Speaker 1: including Reese trying to use his product's name recognition to 446 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:39,900 Speaker 1: demand that stores not sell any of his competitors' peanut 447 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,260 Speaker 1: butter cups. But that actually led to Reese being sued 448 00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: by one of those competitors. He didn't win. And while 449 00:28:46,740 --> 00:28:50,450 Speaker 1: he couldn't prevent other companies from making similar products or 450 00:28:50,610 --> 00:28:54,090 Speaker 1: prevent stores from stocking those similar products, what he could 451 00:28:54,150 --> 00:28:57,510 Speaker 1: do was print the word original on all of his packaging, 452 00:28:58,130 --> 00:29:01,470 Speaker 1: which he did. And despite there being other peanut butter 453 00:29:01,490 --> 00:29:04,690 Speaker 1: cups on the market, Reese's sales stayed steady, and they 454 00:29:04,770 --> 00:29:08,210 Speaker 1: actually even increased. Up to the point that the U.S. 455 00:29:08,260 --> 00:29:11,300 Speaker 1: became involved in the war, the H.B. Reese company still 456 00:29:11,340 --> 00:29:15,260 Speaker 1: made a variety of other candies. But the sugar rationing 457 00:29:15,420 --> 00:29:19,580 Speaker 1: that happened during the war made only one candy still 458 00:29:19,660 --> 00:29:23,850 Speaker 1: viable for manufacture, and that was the peanut butter-filled Reese's cup. 459 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: Peanuts were not rationed, and the whole thing required less 460 00:29:28,780 --> 00:29:32,770 Speaker 1: sugar than other candies did. Additionally, at a time when 461 00:29:32,830 --> 00:29:36,090 Speaker 1: a lot of the workforce was away at war, Reese 462 00:29:36,130 --> 00:29:39,170 Speaker 1: was able to automate production of the Reese's Cup so 463 00:29:39,230 --> 00:29:43,140 Speaker 1: that they could continue to be produced with a reduced workforce. 464 00:29:43,860 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: This was definitely a temporary situation. At the time, the 465 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: company really prided itself on the candies being hand-coated. So 466 00:29:52,420 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: after the war, they went back to this hands-on method 467 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:59,050 Speaker 1: of production and For a while during the war, Reese's 468 00:29:59,090 --> 00:30:02,570 Speaker 1: Cups were the only things that the company made. Things 469 00:30:02,810 --> 00:30:06,260 Speaker 1: were going so well for Reese after World War II 470 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,080 Speaker 1: that in the early 1950s, he decided he needed to 471 00:30:10,140 --> 00:30:14,820 Speaker 1: expand into a second, brand-new manufacturing facility that he planned 472 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 1: to have custom-built. The land that Reese purchased for this 473 00:30:18,980 --> 00:30:22,860 Speaker 1: project was bought from none other than Milton Hershey, and H.B. 474 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,850 Speaker 1: envisioned what he called his dream plant. He was involved 475 00:30:26,890 --> 00:30:29,850 Speaker 1: in the planning of it right alongside the architects and 476 00:30:29,890 --> 00:30:32,730 Speaker 1: the industrial designers, and it was going to be thrice 477 00:30:32,810 --> 00:30:36,130 Speaker 1: the size of their existing factory, with a design that 478 00:30:36,150 --> 00:30:39,010 Speaker 1: would allow the company to expand it again in the 479 00:30:39,050 --> 00:30:43,610 Speaker 1: future if they needed to, without interrupting production. It was 480 00:30:43,690 --> 00:30:46,989 Speaker 1: also designed with the very latest temperature control systems so 481 00:30:47,030 --> 00:30:52,400 Speaker 1: that both humans and confections would stay at a consistent temp. H.B. 482 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:55,760 Speaker 1: Reese did not get to see his second factory completed. 483 00:30:56,220 --> 00:30:59,190 Speaker 1: While he was vacationing in West Palm Beach, Florida in 484 00:30:59,230 --> 00:31:02,990 Speaker 1: May of 1956, he had a heart attack. After several 485 00:31:03,030 --> 00:31:06,450 Speaker 1: days at the hospital, he died on May 16th. While 486 00:31:06,530 --> 00:31:09,630 Speaker 1: Reese left his property to his sons and daughters, the 487 00:31:09,710 --> 00:31:13,550 Speaker 1: company was left only to his sons. And things at 488 00:31:13,570 --> 00:31:19,260 Speaker 1: the company initially seemed okay. In November 1957, newspapers ran 489 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:22,800 Speaker 1: stories about the new factory finally opening and how it 490 00:31:22,820 --> 00:31:26,950 Speaker 1: was the culmination of their father's dream. A write-up in 491 00:31:26,990 --> 00:31:30,710 Speaker 1: the Patriot News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, featured a large photo 492 00:31:31,030 --> 00:31:34,570 Speaker 1: that was subtitled The Reese Family Team, and it showed 493 00:31:34,590 --> 00:31:37,330 Speaker 1: the Reese sons and it listed out all of their titles. 494 00:31:38,250 --> 00:31:42,180 Speaker 1: Among other design features of this new factory, the write-up touted, quote, 495 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: The convenience and welfare of the HB Rees Co. employees 496 00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:50,470 Speaker 1: were considered in the overall planning. There is a spacious 497 00:31:50,530 --> 00:31:55,550 Speaker 1: cafeteria and locker rooms with showers. Polished hardwood floors add 498 00:31:55,570 --> 00:31:59,600 Speaker 1: to the appearance as well as comfort of the manufacturing areas. 499 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 1: The offices are designed to offer the best working conditions. 500 00:32:04,970 --> 00:32:08,630 Speaker 1: This was all really a pretty huge achievement in factory design. 501 00:32:08,950 --> 00:32:12,060 Speaker 1: But while everything looked great and in the papers it 502 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:16,160 Speaker 1: seemed great, the power structure within the family was getting 503 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:19,990 Speaker 1: pretty tense. Yeah, the brothers just could not agree on 504 00:32:20,050 --> 00:32:23,600 Speaker 1: how to carry on their father's legacy. The factory itself 505 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,100 Speaker 1: was running well, and it was bringing in more than 506 00:32:26,100 --> 00:32:30,570 Speaker 1: $ 15 million a year, but not all of Reese's sons 507 00:32:30,650 --> 00:32:33,470 Speaker 1: wanted to keep the business in the family. After a 508 00:32:33,690 --> 00:32:38,370 Speaker 1: lot of internal debate, in 1963, the H.B. Reese Candy 509 00:32:38,410 --> 00:32:43,450 Speaker 1: Company was purchased by Hershey. The brothers got $ 24 million 510 00:32:44,100 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 1: worth of Hershey stock in the deal, and several of 511 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:52,140 Speaker 1: the Reese siblings served on Hershey's board. By 1969, the 512 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,490 Speaker 1: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup was the best-selling candy on the 513 00:32:55,530 --> 00:32:59,030 Speaker 1: Hershey roster, and it remains one of the best-selling candies 514 00:32:59,090 --> 00:33:02,490 Speaker 1: in the U.S. Of course, there is also the baby 515 00:33:02,530 --> 00:33:06,250 Speaker 1: sibling of the Reese's Cup that also bears H.B. 's name. 516 00:33:06,310 --> 00:33:09,690 Speaker 1: That was Reese's Pieces, of course. So he has multiple 517 00:33:09,730 --> 00:33:17,120 Speaker 1: things that are eponymous, all super delicious. Yeah, so... Happy Halloween, everybody. 518 00:33:17,180 --> 00:33:20,810 Speaker 1: Probably early Halloween if you're listening to this promptly. Stay 519 00:33:20,870 --> 00:33:24,730 Speaker 1: safe out there with your candy and your trick-or-treating. Yeah. 520 00:33:24,930 --> 00:33:27,370 Speaker 1: I hope everybody gets full bars when they go trick-or-treating. 521 00:33:27,690 --> 00:33:30,990 Speaker 1: We are a full bar house at my house, so. 522 00:33:31,050 --> 00:33:34,910 Speaker 1: I have a story about full bars when we do 523 00:33:35,010 --> 00:33:38,870 Speaker 1: Friday's Chitter Chatter. Do you have listener mail? I do. 524 00:33:39,630 --> 00:33:45,230 Speaker 1: This is from our listener slash viewer, Bill. who writes, Hi, 525 00:33:45,250 --> 00:33:48,550 Speaker 1: Holly and Tracy. I just finished listening slash watching your 526 00:33:48,630 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 1: history podcast on Netflix. It was focused on Robert Moses, 527 00:33:52,170 --> 00:33:54,320 Speaker 1: but you mentioned that only one pavilion at the New 528 00:33:54,360 --> 00:33:57,540 Speaker 1: York World's Fair had a 24-hour presence, and that was 529 00:33:57,580 --> 00:34:00,080 Speaker 1: the Vatican Pavilion, but you are not going to go 530 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,400 Speaker 1: down that rabbit hole. I'm going to take you down it. 531 00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: As a young teenager, I visited that World's Fair. The 532 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:10,600 Speaker 1: Vatican sent the original Pieta by Michelangelo pre-vandalism to that fair. 533 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,239 Speaker 1: I bet it had 24-hour protection. I feel foolish because 534 00:34:14,280 --> 00:34:16,430 Speaker 1: I didn't connect the dots on this. We talked about 535 00:34:16,469 --> 00:34:19,390 Speaker 1: that whole thing when we did an episode in 2016, 536 00:34:19,390 --> 00:34:24,630 Speaker 1: I think in February, about the many pietas that Michelangelo made, 537 00:34:25,130 --> 00:34:28,339 Speaker 1: including that one specifically. And we talked about it going 538 00:34:28,380 --> 00:34:30,500 Speaker 1: to the World's Fair, but listen, that was 10 years ago. 539 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:33,779 Speaker 1: I was going to say, a decade ago, I don't 540 00:34:33,820 --> 00:34:37,360 Speaker 1: remember things from last week on the show. Just in 541 00:34:37,420 --> 00:34:41,070 Speaker 1: case nobody wants to go look that up. Yeah. That 542 00:34:41,110 --> 00:34:44,250 Speaker 1: was a super duper cool whole thing that happened. And 543 00:34:44,270 --> 00:34:46,009 Speaker 1: I think this might be why I wasn't thinking about 544 00:34:46,030 --> 00:34:48,630 Speaker 1: it being at the World's Fair. I was so fixated 545 00:34:48,910 --> 00:34:51,630 Speaker 1: on all of the shipping stuff that they did. Oh, yeah. 546 00:34:52,050 --> 00:34:55,150 Speaker 1: Like they made a custom shipping container. They had to 547 00:34:55,350 --> 00:34:58,609 Speaker 1: x-ray it beforehand because it had had some damage to 548 00:34:58,710 --> 00:35:01,390 Speaker 1: one of Mary's hands. And they wanted to make sure 549 00:35:01,410 --> 00:35:04,570 Speaker 1: that was not something that was going to get exacerbated. 550 00:35:05,300 --> 00:35:08,260 Speaker 1: if they shipped it, it had like a little wire 551 00:35:08,340 --> 00:35:12,700 Speaker 1: fixative that was connecting the two. Like Eastman Kodak actually 552 00:35:12,739 --> 00:35:15,220 Speaker 1: did the radiology on that. Like it was a very 553 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,180 Speaker 1: big deal for the Vatican and the World's Fair. And 554 00:35:18,219 --> 00:35:21,640 Speaker 1: then there were three nesting cases that were made for 555 00:35:21,780 --> 00:35:25,799 Speaker 1: it so that while it was on a ship, it 556 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,219 Speaker 1: was not gonna like, it could move with the ship 557 00:35:28,280 --> 00:35:32,560 Speaker 1: without the actual statue being rocked too much around. And, 558 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:36,020 Speaker 1: of course, it's probably never going to leave the Vatican again. Right. So, dear, 559 00:35:36,060 --> 00:35:40,819 Speaker 1: dear listener, you really got the lucky one because, Bill, 560 00:35:40,890 --> 00:35:43,610 Speaker 1: nobody else is going to see it in the U.S. again. Yeah. 561 00:35:45,489 --> 00:35:48,560 Speaker 1: I have seen it twice in Italy. Cried like a 562 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:52,879 Speaker 1: baby both times. Yeah, we walked into it, into where 563 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:56,219 Speaker 1: it was, and it was there. And I almost just 564 00:35:56,500 --> 00:36:00,780 Speaker 1: screamed across the room at you, like, Holly, it's the Pieta, 565 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:04,440 Speaker 1: which would not have been appropriate and also was not necessary. 566 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:08,520 Speaker 1: You knew it was there already. I did. I love it. 567 00:36:08,570 --> 00:36:10,700 Speaker 1: It's not, I think I said it during that episode 568 00:36:10,700 --> 00:36:13,509 Speaker 1: 10 years ago, it is not my favorite of his Pietas. 569 00:36:14,550 --> 00:36:18,030 Speaker 1: The one that is my favorite is actually... argued over 570 00:36:18,070 --> 00:36:20,279 Speaker 1: whether or not he did it, which is Pietà Palestrini, 571 00:36:20,460 --> 00:36:23,140 Speaker 1: which is in Accademia in Florence. I don't know what 572 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:25,919 Speaker 1: it is about that statue. It's unfinished. It's a little 573 00:36:25,940 --> 00:36:28,080 Speaker 1: bit raw. There's something very moving about it to me. 574 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,640 Speaker 1: It also makes me laugh because people, both times I 575 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:38,899 Speaker 1: have been to the cathedral and seen the Pietà, there's 576 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:41,960 Speaker 1: always me and one other person really losing their minds. 577 00:36:42,110 --> 00:36:45,850 Speaker 1: And both times it's been like a clearly very devout 578 00:36:45,850 --> 00:36:48,630 Speaker 1: 14 year old girl who is probably on track to 579 00:36:48,650 --> 00:36:51,210 Speaker 1: be a nun and I'm like I feel you and 580 00:36:51,250 --> 00:36:53,630 Speaker 1: I understand oh I love it I'm here for the 581 00:36:53,710 --> 00:36:57,270 Speaker 1: art but it's very moving it's very beautiful there's almost 582 00:36:57,330 --> 00:37:01,370 Speaker 1: nothing like it on earth so bummed that it I 583 00:37:01,410 --> 00:37:03,339 Speaker 1: mean on the one hand I'm not really bummed that 584 00:37:03,380 --> 00:37:06,060 Speaker 1: it's not getting shipped around the world that's inherently dangerous 585 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,339 Speaker 1: bummed that it's in a place that makes it harder 586 00:37:08,380 --> 00:37:10,660 Speaker 1: for more people to see it but if you can 587 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,140 Speaker 1: go I highly recommend it it's worth getting through the 588 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:18,109 Speaker 1: crowd because it's amazing if you would like to write 589 00:37:18,130 --> 00:37:21,489 Speaker 1: to us about cool art things you have seen or 590 00:37:22,350 --> 00:37:25,450 Speaker 1: world fairs you've been to or anything you've done, or 591 00:37:25,530 --> 00:37:27,270 Speaker 1: if you just want to say hi, you can do 592 00:37:27,310 --> 00:37:31,850 Speaker 1: that at historypodcast at iheartradio.com. If you want to see 593 00:37:32,010 --> 00:37:36,540 Speaker 1: the resources we use to make this episode and others, 594 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:38,100 Speaker 1: you can see the show notes for any of our 595 00:37:38,140 --> 00:37:42,170 Speaker 1: episodes at missedinhistory.com. And if you would like to subscribe 596 00:37:42,190 --> 00:37:44,770 Speaker 1: to the show, it is so easy. It's easier than 597 00:37:44,870 --> 00:37:46,610 Speaker 1: eating a piece of candy. You can do it on 598 00:37:46,630 --> 00:37:50,130 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows. 599 00:37:55,780 --> 00:37:58,880 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 600 00:37:59,180 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 601 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:05,800 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.