It all started in 1876, the
year America celebrated its 100th birthday, General Custer ran into
trouble at the Little Big Horn and Alexander Graham Bell made his
famous telephone call to Mr. Watson. In St. Louis,
Missouri, Mr. Busch was brewing his first batch of beer.
Meanwhile, across the state in
the busy river town of St. Joseph, Dr. George Washington Chase faced a
dilemma. In those days it was difficult raising a family on a
doctor’s meager wages. Drawing upon his previous experiences
while growing up back East, Chase decided to open a fruit and produce
business.
His teenage son Ernest
persuaded him to hire two expert candy makers. The idea was to
set up a candy factory on the second floor of the store. The
idea worked and before long the demand for Chase’s fine confections
forced the family to devote all of their talents to candy
making.
Over the years Chase became
known throughout the Midwest for its fine quality peanut candies and
hand-dipped chocolates. Around 1918 Chase formulated what was to
become the best selling cherry candy bar in the country, Cherry Mash.
The candy consisted of a quarter pound mound of chopped roasted
peanuts blended with chocolate coating over a smooth cherry fondant
center. Interestingly the candy was called Cherry Chase then
Cherry Chaser before becoming the Cherry Mash we know today. |
