A short history of confectionery, candy manufacturers and candy wholesalers in Paducah, KY from the mid-1800's to the beginning of the 21st Century
Written by Johanna Comisak Rhodes - With additional research by Nathan Lynn
October 2023
Paducah seems to have had a “sweet tooth” from nearly the beginning. It’s impossible to trace our love of sweets in the 40’s and 50’s—that’s the 1840s and 1850s—but when the city started publishing city directories, we begin to get a picture—a “vision of sugar plums,” if you will. City directories and early newspapers are among the only sources of information on candy more than 175 years later.
The Williams’ Paducah Directory, City Guide, and Business Mirror for 1859-’60 lists no less than six people under the category of “Confectioners.” Remembering that Paducah only extended a few blocks west of the Ohio River, with a small business district fanning out just a few blocks from the riverfront and a population of just under 4,600 (U.S. Decennial Census), six candy makers/sellers seems more than sufficient indeed.
In alphabetical order, these “confectioners” were Christopher Dauberman, who was listed as selling “confectionary, fruits, &c (etc.)” on the north side of Broadway between Main (First Street) and Market (Second Street), in the St. Francis Hotel building.” Not far away, F. A. Kruger was selling the same thing (confectionary, fruits, etc.) on the south side of Broadway, between Main and Market. Thomas Jones, listed as selling only “confectionary,” was situated on the east side of Market. C.V. Matil was said to be a “Confectionary and Candy Manufacturer” on the south side of Broadway. Mrs. Frances Negley sold her candy on the southwest corner of Main (First) and Court (Kentucky Avenue), a block south of Broadway. William Wandell had a store on the north side of Broadway where he paired “confection” with “notions.” By the time of the 1866 city directory, F. A. Kruger was the only candy seller left from this group.
The next city directory available, the 1871 Wiggins and Weaver directory, is missing its section on commercial businesses, but we see that F. A. Kruger had left the sweet life of candy and was managing the Idlewild Restaurant on Jefferson near Chestnut (now Fifth Street).
Ten years later, the 1881-1882 Jonathan B. Gaines directory has a narrative about two of the city confectioneries, and they sound like early press releases. R.C. Calissi sold his wares at 203 Broadway, just down from the Southern Hotel, and B.M. Leiber was a few steps away.
R.C. CALISSI
Mr. Calissi commenced business in this city a little over one year ago, on a small scale, but has gradually added to his stock, until he now has quite a handsome confectionery and fruit store on Broadway next door to the First National Bank. He deals in all kinds of native and foreign fruits, confectioneries, ice cream, etc., and has by his industry and business tact, built up a good business.
B.M. LIEBER & CO.
B.M. Leiber & Co., whose place of business is 108 Broadway, have one of the most complete ice cream parlors and confectioneries in the city. Their stock is pure and free from any adulterations, and they command a fare (sic) share of the public’s patronage. Call on Ben. Leiber when you want anything in his line, and (take) our word for it you will get the best and at the cheapest prices.
Jonathan B. Gaines’ Paducah City Directory, 1881-1882
Elsewhere in the directory, other sellers of “Confectionery, Fruits, &c” were J.G. Fisher on the southwest corner of Court (Kentucky Avenue) and Locust (Third Street), Edward Hormuth on the southeast corner of Broadway and Locust (Third Street), F. Kirchhoff at No. 31 and 34 Market (Second Street), Julius Weil at 206 Broadway and Andy Weil, Jr. at 215 Broadway. Even though H.W. Hand was not on this list, an ad in the directory noted “Fruits and Confectioneries” were sold at H.W. Hand Wholesale Dealers in Fancy Groceries at 205 Broadway.
Jonathan B. Gaines’ Paducah City Directory, 1881-1882
Julius Weil, confectioner at 206 Broadway, had a way to set himself apart in the directory. Here and there, in bold print, were phrases like: “Go to Julius Weil for Your Choice Candies” and “Julius Weil Manufactures the Purest Candies to be Found Anywhere.”
The Bennett & Company’s directory for 1886-1887 gives an almost impossible-to-believe number of confectioners—14. Was anyone who sold candy of any kind listed? Those included were Isaac Biederman, 25 Broadway; S. Bonomo, Fifth Street between Broadway and Court (Kentucky Avenue); M. Calissi, 205 Broadway; J.G. Fisher & Son, Third Street between Broadway and Court (Kentucky Avenue); S.C. Grouse, Sixth Street between Ohio and Tennessee; Greenwell & McKane, Seventh Street between Court (Kentucky Avenue) and Washington; Frank Kirchhoff, 19 and 21 South Second Street; B.M. Lieber & Co. 108 Broadway; C. Manzionati, Broadway between Fourth and Fifth Streets; Edward Overly, north side of Trimble between Seventh and Eighth Streets; Wm. C. Overstreet, south side of Trimble between Seventh and Eighth Streets; A. Rosenthal, 103 Court (Kentucky Avenue); L.P. Rasor, 211 Broadway; and Julius Weil & Levy, 206 Broadway.
The next available directory, Bennett & Company’s Paducah City Directory for 1890-’91, has 13 confectioners. In addition to Calissi, Fisher, Kirchhoff, Rasor and Weil, we now have Jake Biederman, who has a grocery at 206 Broadway and another on Seventh Street, Jeff Goodrich on Seventh Street, George Hannin at 1203 Broadway, F & M Kreutzer at 206 Court (Kentucky Avenue), F.M. Lawrence at 132 South Second, Marion LeRoy at 414 Broadway, Sarah L. Mansfield at 500 South Seventh, and Budd Parkins in Mechanicsburg. Some of these besides Biederman must have been grocers as well.
The Scott and Wilcox directory of 1894-1895 again lists grocers among the confectioneries, but R. Calissi, Frank Kirchhoff, L.P. Rasor, and Julius Weil are still there, along with a name that will come to dominate the candy market in Paducah—P.E. Stutz--at 103 North Fifth Street.
By the time of the 1895 Zorn directory, we find just four names under the heading “Candy Manufacturers.” They include R. Callissi at 304 Broadway, Pitt & Wilton at 119 South Third Street, P.E. Stutz at 417 1/2 Broadway, and Julius Weil & Co. at 315 Broadway. If you look under “Confections, Etc.” there is a longer list, which obviously includes some grocers. But Calissi is there as well as Julius Weil and some others from past listings: Frank Kirchhoff, Kreutzer who now teamed up with Nieman, and L.P. Rasor. Julius Weil was still finding ways to set himself apart. In the alphabetical listing of individuals and businesses, Weil’s information stood out because of the length. Also, his name was capitalized and in bold print.
“WEIL JULIUS & CO, mfrg confectioners, dealers in fruits, nuts, fancy groceries; the finest soda fountain in the State; headquarters for all kinds of mineral waters, 315 Broadway.”
In 1898, the business section of that year’s city directory listed three “Candy Makers.” They were Conomow & Co. at 211 Broadway, Charles H. Curtis at 325 Broadway and P.E. Stutz at 417 Broadway. Curtis was the proprietor of The Delicatessen at 327 Broadway as well. Conomow and Stutz were also listed under “Confections,” along with other, by now, familiar names: Calissi, Kirchhoff (also listed as a baker and confectioner), and Kreutzer. New this year were H. Goekel of 123 South Third, T.F. Housman and Co. at 405 Broadway, and Albert Sappeli at 116 Broadway. It is interesting that as the town grew and expanded west and south, confectioners remained in the heart of downtown Paducah.
The Paducah Sun, December 17, 1898, pg. 4
The Paducah Sun, December 23, 1898, pg. 3
It wasn’t until 1898 that we find information about candy and confectioners in Paducah newspapers. In December of that year, advertisements proclaimed that “Lowney’s and Gunther’s famous candies can be had only at P.E. Stutz’s or (the) Delicatessen.” It should be noted that Lowney’s and Gunther’s were two separate candy makers. Lowney’s was out of Boston and Gunther’s was in Chicago, so neither was made in Paducah.
A few years later, in 1901, the Paducah Sun carried a small article on the front page, reporting that “J.V. Lapaleas, the Greek candy man” had become a naturalized citizen. A few months later, the News-Democrat reported that “the Greek candy man” and a partner named Stephen Clark were opening a “short-order restaurant.” It would be called The Greek Candy Kitchen and would be at 211 Broadway. Candy patrons were not to worry that this move would stop the candy-making. The paper noted, “This will not interfere with our candy and fruit department as we will continue to carry a line of fruits and candies” and that candies would be made fresh “every day.” As many immigrants to this country do, Lapaleas had now changed his name to Jim Vlaholeas, which made it no easier to pronounce.
The Paducah Sun, October 23, 1901, pg. 4
The Paducah Sun, December 20, 1901, pg. 6
For the holiday season in 1901, The Greek Candy Kitchen advertised, “We have just received a car load of the best candy ever offered in this city for the price.” And, the ad also said they would have “Home-made candy fresh every day.” It seems that often fruit was paired with candy in ads, and The Greek Candy Kitchen wanted customers to know they had “the best fruits on the market” as well.
In early 1903, Clark purchased Vlaholeas’ interest in the Greek Candy Kitchen, and Vlaholeas decided to relocate, first going to Louisville and then to Evansville, Indiana, according to the newspaper.
In 1905, The Greek Candy Kitchen was advertising “cold drinks, fresh candies, choice fruits, tobacco and cigars. Ice cream soda 5 cents, ice cream 5 cents, 90 cents per gallon wholesale. Satisfaction guaranteed.” After 1905, no mention was made in the local newspapers or city directories of The Greek Candy Kitchen. However, James Vlaholeas was back in town, identified as a “confectioner” located at Broadway and Third Street.
On November 1, 1902, P.E. Stutz ran a small ad in the Evening Sun that announced he was turning over his retail store to Charles Goodman, saying “you all know his capabilities as a fine candy maker….” That year, ads showed Stutz sold everything from fresh oysters to summer fruits and all kinds of soda fountain drinks. In 1904, Stutz made some bold moves. With his mind set on expansion and increasing sales, Stutz bought The Columbia soda fountain at Fifth and Broadway and closed his candy kitchen down the street (Evening Sun). However, this didn’t mean that Stutz was leaving candy-making behind.
The Paducah Sun, November 1, 1902 , pg. 5
The Paducah Sun, May 23, 1902, pg. 5
According to an article in the News-Democrat, P.E. Stutz began his candy-making in Paducah in 1891. The paper reported “the start was small and for the first year or so not a great volume of business was done by them. “The company came out with its Blue Grass brand of candies and by 1912, the Stutz Candy Company was turning out “over one thousand varieties, and has a capacity of one thousand pounds daily.” Among the production, “all sorts of candies, chocolates, butterscotch and fancy holiday goods….” But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.
The Paducah Evening Sun, October 23, 1912, pg. 3
When P.E. Stutz Candy Company was incorporated is not clear cut. On the front page of the Paducah Sun on August 17, 1903, is a paragraph under the heading “COUNTY COURT” that addresses one Stutz incorporation. It is as follows:
Articles of incorporation for the Stutz Candy company, have been filed. The capital stock is $25,000, and is divided into shares of $100 each, the incorporators being as follows: P.E. Stutz, 100 shares; F.M. McGlathery, 30 shares, and J.W. McGlathery, 20 shares. The company is to do all kinds of candy and soda water business, wholesale or retail.
Ashton’s 1904 city directory identifies F.M. McGlathery as working for the Stutz Candy Company but does not give his position. J.W. McGlathery was said to be a traveling salesman, but no firm was given. He was working for Stutz. This was confirmed by Caron’s Directory for 1904-1905. In this directory, F.M. McGlathery was identified as secretary and treasurer of Stutz Candy, while James W. McGlathery was now said to be vice-president of the firm.
The next incorporation for Stutz came four years later, in 1907. We will get to that one shortly.
P.E. Stutz in the Palmer House block, Paducah, The City Beautiful
The Blue Grass candy factory was at 201-205 Jefferson Street. We know that one of the items made at the factory was a “barber-pole” candy cane because of an incident at the plant involving two workers on December 1, 1905. The Daily News-Democrat reported that the factory was working overtime because of holiday orders. Two men busy “putting the proper stripes and shape on a big stick of red and white ‘barber-pole’ peppermint candy” apparently began to quarrel when “the red stripe for some reason, took a crooked route….” One of the men “snatched up a heavy iron bar and struck (the other one) on the head.” The uninjured man reportedly told police, “’He started at me with a hatchet, and I struck him on the head with an iron bar.’” We were not able to determine from published reports what happened to either man.
A month later, the newspaper reported that as the packet boat Rees Lee passed Paducah in the middle of the night on January 20, 1906, it took on “a very good amount of freight” including “over 200 buckets” of candy from Stutz. While docking the next day at Tiptonville, Tennessee, the boat “struck a snag and sank….” taking its cargo with it.
The next month, February 1906, a brick wall at the back of the Jefferson Street Stutz plant fell down, doing “several hundred dollars’ worth of damage,” according to the Paducah Evening Sun. “The constant vibration from the power house, situated in the rear…is the only cause to which the proprietor…can attribute the accident.” The paper said the structural damage was covered by insurance. $250 to $300 worth of damage to candy-making machinery was also noted. Several years later, the factory was physically moved to Fourth and Jefferson.
Not long after the wall fell at the factory, a short item in the News-Democrat noted that Stutz had “installed a wholesale and retail ice cream plant in our factory” on Jefferson Street. The item continued, “We want your patronage. Prices reasonable. Give us a trial order.”
About a year later, in March of 1907, the Stutz Candy Company also filed articles of incorporation. The Paducah Evening Sun said “the stock is capitalized at $8,000 divided into shares of $100 each.” Stockholders included P.E. Stutz, Albert S. Hawkins and Lucy Stutz, wife of P.E. Stutz. The paper also noted the “incorporation was effected in order to admit Hawkins into the business.” Hawkins had been a store manager for Stutz, and the Caron directory for 1908-1909 identified Hawkins as secretary and treasurer of the Stutz Candy Company. Stutz was elected president of the firm, and Blue Grass candies continued to be eaten in Paducah and shipped across the country. With this incorporation, one McGlathery stayed with the company and one left. Caron’s directory showed that James W. McGlathery remained as vice-president, while Francis M. was now with E.W. Whittemore, a real estate agency.
P.E. Stutz in the Palmer House block, Paducah, The City Beautiful
The Stutz Candy Company during the 1913 flood. To the right is Fourth Street., Paducah , The City Beautiful
The Paducah Evening Sun, December 13, 1910, pg. 5
The Paducah News-Democrat, December 25, 1910, pg. 9
In 1910, a holiday ad by the Stutz company promoted “For Xmas: A nice box of candy, such as Gunthers, par excellence. Allegretti, the genuine. Lowney’s, celebrated chocolates and bonbons. Last but not least, our brand,” Blue Grass candies. Numerous ads for Blue Grass brand candies appeared in local papers. One such ad announced, “Our candies are pure. Our prices are right. Our service prompt. Send us your orders. We are at your service.”
A headline in the News-Democrat in April 1912 described the Stutz Company as “Manufacturers of Pure And Wholesome Candies and Chocolates.” This was followed by more praise. “A general line of candies is made in the factory in Paducah and a high grade of chocolate and cream mixtures manufactured by the company is shipped to all parts of the United States. They likewise make a general line of penny and hard boiled goods for that class of trade.” Looking locally, the paper said, “The company operates a retail department for candy in the Palmer house (hotel), near Fifth and Broadway, and has a soda fountain connection. The place is one of the show-places in Paducah and the fact that it is thronged all day long and far into the night every day in the year attests to its popularity.” On the business side, the paper noted, that the “company does an annual business today which runs high into the hundred thousands annually.”
The Paducah Evening Sun, August 12, 1905, pg. 3
The Paducah Evening Sun, August 22, 1905, pg. 5
The Paducah Evening Sun, September 22, 1905, pg. 8
The Paducah Evening Sun, March 4, 1909, pg. 7
The Paducah Evening Sun, November 7, 1912, pg. 3
On July 30, 1912, the following unsigned article appeared in the Paducah Sun:
The Stutz Candy Company
This firm is one which all Paducah should justly be proud of. Starting from a small factory a few years ago, this firm is one of the largest factories in the state, the reason of its rapid growth being due to the quality of its products manufactured and its progressive management. Far and wide the Stutz Candy Co’s “Blue Grass” brand of candies are known for their purity and deliciousness. No candy factory anywhere is better equipped to supply the trade with better “sweet goodies” than the Stutz Candy Co., for they have every modern facility to manufacture the best of many varieties of candies. If you are not selling “Blue Grass” brand of candies, Mr. Retailer, you are not treating yourself right or the manufacturers here at home either, for they are worthy of your every consideration.
November 5, 1912, the company was looking for workers. The Paducah Evening Sun carried this ad. “GIRLS WANTED at Stutz’s Candy factory at 4th and Jefferson.”
The company tried promotions such as the following contest, which was promoted in an ad in the Sun in February 1913: “SPECIAL For Wednesday and Thursday. With each 10 cent package of Peters’ Milk Chocolate we will give 5,000 votes on our Grand Piano, which we will give FREE. Contest over April 16.” Besides the Claxton Grande piano said to be valued at $400, other prizes included a 20-year gold filled watch, a 10-year gold-filled watch and a sterling silver comb and brush.
In 1913, there was a push to have Paducah Light and Power put up street lights along Broadway, to make it “the white way,” as noted in an article in the Evening Sun on May 13. “Ninety merchants have already signed the paper…” noted the Sun. One hundred were needed, and “the cost will be nominal. The lights will burn every night from dusk until 10 o’clock and on Saturday nights until 11 o’clock.” The paper called the merchants backing the lights “progressive,” and P.E. Stutz was one of them.
In December of 1913, a Stutz ad in the News-Democrat announced: “Christmas in all its glories and pleasures will not be complete without a BOX OF STUTZ’S CANDY Or a Basket of Choice Fruits. Stutz, the logical candy man. Best Candies to be had from 10 cents to $1.00 per pound.”
The Paducah Evening-Sun, 5 November 1913, pg. 2
The Paducah News-Democrat, 12 December 1913, pg. 5
But unsolvable problems had been looming on the horizon for the Stutz Candy Company. And on January 3, 1914, a front-page article in the Evening Sun broke the news that the company would be closing. “Because ‘conditions over which they had no control’ had crippled them to such an extent that ‘it put them to a very bad disadvantage in operating a large sized factory,’ the Stutz Candy company, one of Paducah’s oldest institutions, will retire from the local business field inside of the next three months. Announcement of this fact was made public this morning in a statement from P.E. Stutz, president and chief owner of the company.” The paper reported that Stutz told them the company had been “losing heavily” for the past three years. Stutz also said “when conditions seem to warrant it we may reorganize and resurrect the business later.” He also told the Sun the confectionery and retail store near Fifth and Broadway would stay in operation “for an indefinite period.”
Stutz turned to selling off his candy-making equipment a couple of months later. The Sun carried this ad in April of 1914. “FOR SALE—Fine draft horse; stake wagon; top buggy; two-wheel push cart; two-wheel trucks; platform trucks; scales, large and small; Lumber, various kinds; shaft-handlers and boxes; exhaust fan; shafting; pulleys; belting; steam traps; 45 H.P. boiler; steam pipes and fittings; valves; display showcase; large iron safe; Burrough’s adding machine; Oliver typewriter; Underwood revolving duplicator; roll top desk; office tables and chairs; and a complete equipped steam candy factory outfit, vacuum pan, steam copper kettles, Candy furnaces, revolving pans, slabs, copper kettles, etc. THE STUTZ CANDY COMPANY”
Stutz tried re-inventing himself in July of 1914, placing a large display ad in the Paducah Evening Sun. The headline said “ANNOUNCEMENT From P. E. Stutz” and it began this way: “Having equipped a first class work room in connection with my store in the Palmer House block—known as ‘STUTZ’S COLUMBIA,’ I beg to announce to my friends and to those who are not now my patrons, that I will have personal charge of every department of my business, especially in the work room in making my Candies, Ice Cream and Soda Fountain Supplies and Beverages.” Stutz went on to say he was asking for co-operation from local people “to rebuild my business.”
In late December of 1915, Stutz told the News-Democrat “that while his Christmas trade was not the best in the history of the firm, it was much better than in 1914, and that prospects were good.”
Stutz was able to hang on for a few more months, and then it was over. In September 1916, this classified ad appeared in the Chicago Tribune: “CONFECTIONERY AND SODA FOUNTAIN Store—For Sale—Finest in city of 30,000; will make interesting proposition if sold at once; only interested parties need apply. P.E. STUTZ, Paducah, Ky.”
Chicago Tribune, September 9, 1916
The next month, on October 9, 1916, the News-Democrat ran a small article signaling the end of Stutz Candy in Paducah. It read. “P.E. Stutz, owner of the Stutz Confectionery at Fifth and Broadway, yesterday filed a deed of assignment to Wilbur A. May, auditor of the Palmer Hotel company, giving financial deficiencies as his reason for so doing.”
The confectionary re-opened less than two weeks later. A short article in the News-Democrat for October 18, 1916, said “Lon T. Rogers, traveling salesman” had bought the firm in the Palmer House building and “says he will make it one of the best and most up-to-the-minute in this part of the state.” Rogers would be “in charge of the soda water fountain and candy shop” and “H.M. DeGraffenreid, formerly manager of the store for Mr. Stutz, will be the producer….”
Rogers also took out ad in the News-Democrat, announcing that “on tomorrow (October 21, 1916) I will reopen ‘STUTZ’ under the new firm name of ‘ROGERS’ and cordially invite the public to call in….” He said he would have a representative of the Blanke-Wenneker Candy Company of St. Louis “who will demonstrate the purity and wholesomeness of these candies and will present each lady with (a) souvenir package of their goods.”
The Paducah News-Democrat, October 20, 1916, pg. 8
“Rogers” was not listed in the Caron’s directory for 1918-1919. Under the heading “Soda Water,” was the Palmer Soda Room in the Palmer Hotel Building. No mention of Rogers was made under “Confectioners” either. P.E. Stutz and his family had moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Even though P.E. Stutz left Paducah and the Stutz candy factory closed, he left something valuable behind. We should say “someone” instead of “something.” That “someone” was Cleveland Gilliam. In 1957, when Gilliam passed away, the Paducah Sun-Democrat reported that Gilliam “came to Paducah in 1904 and began learning the candy-making business at the old Stutz Candy Factory.” The newspaper reported that “in about 1906, he (Gilliam) went to Nashville and worked for Standard Candy Company and D.C. Lovelace Candy Company.” The newspaper said Gilliam returned to Paducah in 1917 “and founded a small candy kitchen in the 700 block of S. 3rd.”
On October 4, 1992, a piece on Gilliam Candy by Bruce Gardner of the Paducah Sun referred to 1917 as the time “when Gilliam opened a small candy kitchen on South 3rd Street.” Gardner also mentioned that Gilliam “opened the Candy Kitchen at 2nd and Broadway, making hard candies and candy bars” when he returned to Paducah from Nashville in 1927.
However, this timeline runs counter to Paducah city directories. Cleveland Gilliam did not appear in the city directory for 1908-1909, but he was there in 1910 (Caron’s city directory), although his name appeared as “Clarence,” not “Cleveland.” He was said to be working as a candymaker at Stutz Candy Company. The city directory for 1912-1913 (Caron’s) listed Cleveland and also his brother Harry L. Gilliam as candymakers at Stutz. The same was true for Caron’s city directory for 1914-1915. Cleveland Gilliam did not appear in Paducah city directories from 1916 through 1927, the year he opened the Paducah factory at 132 Broadway. It is possible, of course, that he was not in Paducah when information was gathered for Caron’s directory for 1926-1927. We will return to Gilliam when we reach the late 1920s.
Back to the early years of the 20th century. In 1904, Ashton’s city directory listed four candy makers, with Stutz Candy Company being one of them. The other three were names new to the candy scene. They were James Gimbioure, 211 Broadway; Edwards, Leigh & Co., 100 North Fifth Street; and Charles Miller of 620 Tennessee. These men and others could also be found under the heading “Confectioners.” They were not all candy makers. For example, one, E.K. Bonds, was a produce dealer who also sold candy. T.F. Housman was a “confectioner” selling his wares in Stall 1 at Market and 121 South Second Street. W.E. McMinnimy sold confections at 1709 Myers. Albert Sappeli operated at 111 Broadway. And James Vlaholeas was back in town at 304 Broadway. Vlaholeas also had what the Paducah Evening Sun called “refreshment privileges at Wallace Park,” located in the area between today’s Buckner Lane and Blandville Road.
The Paducah News-Democrat, October 23, 1904, pg. 3
The Paducah Evening Sun, December 23, 1905, pg. 5
Late in 1904, Vlaholeas opened The People’s Restaurant at 302 Broadway and continued to operate a fruit stand in the same vicinity. In August of 1905, the Paducah Sun reported that he also owned two confectionery stands on Broadway. The next month, an article in the News-Democrat said, “The Mechanics and Farmers’ bank has sued James Vlaholeas for $350, alleged due on a note. The bank had a mortgage on his stock of confectionaries.” Things continued to go badly for Vlaholeas, and his property was, as they say, to be “sold at the courthouse door” December 11, 1905. The items included stands for candy, thermometers, kettles and a candy cutter, according to the News-Democrat. Somehow, Vlaholeas kept going. A few weeks later, he advertised in the Evening Sun that he would be selling “Christmas Fruits, Nuts, Candies and Dainties” at 304 Broadway. “Daily arrivals keep our stocks fresh and clean,” the ad promised.
Vlaholeas was not listed as a “Candy Manufacturer” in Caron’s city directory for 1904-1905. Only C.L. Miller of 624 Tennessee and the Stutz Candy Co, appeared under that heading. Vlaholeas, Albert Sapplie and the Edward-Leigh Co. were listed under “Confections and Fruit.”
Moving ahead to 1908-1909, Caron’s directory listed a new “Candy Manufacturer,” The Kentucky Candy Company at 624 Tennessee. Jerome J. Roof was the proprietor. Also listed in this category was Milton S. Garrow of 531 Broadway. These two were listed the same way in the 1910-1911 directory. The Kentucky Candy Company was mentioned again in a 1913 article in the News-Democrat. Of course, Stutz was there too.
In 1908-1909, Stutz was among those listed under “Confectioners and Fruits.” At this point in time, many of those selling fresh fruit also sold candy and vice versa. And many of them were also clustered along Broadway, a main shopping artery in town. Vlaholeas was in this listing too, along with J.R. Cosby (111 Broadway), William Greek (218 Broadway), R.T. Nolen (918 South Eighth), Hezekiah Reams (133 Broadway), J.H. Stanley (435 Jefferson). W.J. Vaughn ((419 Broadway) and Louis Viviani (209 Broadway).
The Paducah Evening Sun, July 18, 1908, pg. 6
The Paducah Evening Sun, March 6, 1909, pg. 7
In Caron’s directory for 1908-1909 is the first time we see confectioners identified as “c” for colored. We will more correctly list them as “Black.” For 1908-1909, “Black” confectioners on the list were John Clark of 724 North Tenth and Matt Husbands of 400 South Fourth. Henceforth in this history, if the city directory classifies the confectioner as “c,” we will use the term “Black.” In reality, race should not have been used for identification, but we will make note of the designations for historical correctness. Matt Husbands was also listed in the 1910-1911 directory.
Stepping back to December of 1906, James Vlaholeas was reported to be selling fruits, nuts and “home-made candies 10 cents a pound” at his stand.
We know Vlaholeas was still in business in 1907 because an ad in July 1907 in the News-Democrat said a purse had been lost somewhere “between Vlaholeas confectionary and Sixth and Kentucky avenue.” In 1908, the Evening Sun carried a small ad for Vlaholeas that said he was selling “Fruits—Candy—Ice Cream at wholesale and retail.” In December of 1909, the News-Democrat reported that Vlaholeas sold his store and confectionery to another Greek man, Jim Nichols. The next year, the Evening Sun reported that Vlaholeas was proprietor of the Lennox confectionary at 616 Broadway. Lennox Candy was not mentioned in a city directory in 1910. Vlaholeas kept coming back to go another round.
The News-Democrat of October 1, 1910 carried this display ad: “PADUCAH CANDY KITCHEN 208 Broadway. We have just opened our Kitchen and are now dispensing pure fresh candies. Absolute cleanliness Guaranteed. We use no machines, all candy han(d)-pulled. Step in and inspect our stock.”
The Paducah, News-Democrat, December 18, 1910, pg. 13
Another display ad in the News-Democrat on October 27 said: “A POPULAR CONFECTIONERY STORE where the most delicious candies can be procured is always a source of attraction to the girl with a sweet tooth which is the reason for the demand upon us at all times. Everyone that likes rich and luscious chocolates, dainty marshmallows, fine bon-bons and home-made candies, made from high grade and pure ingredients, always find their way to the Paducah Candy Kitchen.”
The Paducah News-Democrat, October 9, 1910, pg. 8
The Paducah News-Democrat, December 17, 1911, pg. 11
The Paducah News-Democrat, December 30, 1910, pg. 3
Louis Caporal was another immigrant from Greece who became a naturalized citizen and lived in Paducah. You may remember that he was the manager of Jim Vlaholeas’ The People’s Restaurant. He also had a fruit stand. Caporal called himself a “confectioner” at 331 Broadway in a News-Democrat ad April 16, 1908, but the ad was for “GENUINE IMPORTED OLIVE OIL.” An article in the Evening Sun in July of 1908 also identified Caporal as the proprietor of a “drink stand…at the entrance to Wallace Park.”
The Paducah News-Democrat, April 16, 1908, pg. 6
The Paducah News-Democrat, August 12, 1908, pg. 3
There does not seem to be consistency in the names of these fruit/candy stands in the media. In August of 1908, the News-Democrat carried another large display ad for Caporal’s business at 331 Broadway, this time calling it Imperial Confectionery Co. The ad was for “CALIFORNIA FRUITS AND PURE ICE CREAM.” The newspapers continued to advertise Caporal’s fruit stand through 1909, but in January 1910, the Evening Sun reported that “Louis Corporal was duly adjudicated bankrupt….”
By May, Caporal was back in business, just like fellow Greek James Vlaholeas. Caporal was selling fruit next door to the Kozy theater, according to an ad in the Evening Sun. By September, his ads touted that, “We sell more fine fruits than any other place in the city.”
In September 1911, the Evening Sun had a list of firms that the Central Labor Union endorsed “as being friends to organized labor by using the Home Telephone exclusively, and we recommend them for patronage to the public.” Among those listed: “CONFECTIONERY. Louis Caporal.”
Stepping back to the holiday season in 1910, the News-Democrat carried a number of large display ads for the Paducah Candy Kitchen. One of them merits quoting here. “Christmas Candies! Fresh From Our Kitchens!! Christmas week we are going to make a specialty of fancy box candies, such as Chocolates, Bonbons, Mints, Nougats, Fudges and all kinds of Mixed candies. Starting Monday Dec. 19 we will put on sale 4,000 boxes of our fine fresh candies, just out of the kitchens, the prices ranging from 15 cents to $5.00. Five hundred of the boxes will contain a coupon, entitling the owner to as much in trade as the amount of coupon designates. The coupons run from 15 cents to $4.00. All 4,000 boxes will be mixed, in order to give each purchaser a fair chance. Who knows you may get a coupon for a $4.00 box of candy for only 15 cents.”
For 1910-1911, Caron’s directory, Garrow, Ky. Candy Co. and Stutz were listed as “Candy Manufacturers,” and of these three, Stutz was also under “Confectioners and Fruits.” Here too were Caporal, Cosby, Greek, Husbands, Stanley and Vlaholeas. New to this category were W.N. Levan, Jr. of 1501 South Third and Elmer Townsend of Wallace Park.
Caporal was the only name in the Caron city directory for 1911-1912 that had his name in bold print under the heading “Confectioners and Fruits” besides the Stutz candy company. Another familiar name here was James Vlaholeas at 304 and 619 Broadway. Caporal was listed at 409 Broadway. The 1912-1913 directory was back to the “Candy Manufacturer” heading and listed Garrow, the Kentucky Candy Co. and Stutz. Under “Confectioners and Fruits,” Jettie Elliott was said to be a confectioner at 1001 South Third Street. E.N. Freeman was a confectioner at 208 Broadway. Chris Haralambo was a confectioner at 304 Broadway. Mattie Jones, who was Black, was a confectioner boarding at 518 South Seventh Street. John Matalas was said to be a confectioner at 616 Broadway.
Caron’s 1914-1915 directory still gave Galloway, the Kentucky Candy Co. and Stutz as “Candy Manufacturers.” Under “Confectioners and Fruits,” the only people listed as “confectioners” in the main body of the directory were Hattie Dillehunt, Black, at 1315 South Ninth Street, Peter George at 616 Broadway, William Greek on Lovelaceville Road, Haralambo, Stutz and Vlaholeas. Wilson’s Arcade Fountain at 502 Broadway was also on this list.
In 1916-1917, Greek, Haralambo and Stutz were joined by Mary Van Antwerp of 900 South Eleventh as “Confectioners.” The next directory, 1918-1919, only listed Melvin S. Garrow under “Candy Manufacturer.” He had a candy kitchen at 531 Broadway. “Confectioners” included Haralambo, Paducah Candy Kitchen (George Nicklais, proprietor), Vlaholeas and Vernie Robinson, Black, at 1301 Atkins Avenue
Only Garrow remained as a “Candy Manufacturer” in Caron’s 1920-1921 directory, and two new categories emerged, “Candy Wholesale” and “Candy Retail.” Wholesalers included De Werthern Cigar and Tobacco Co. at 111 North Third Street and N.C. Petty and Co. at 106 Broadway. Retailers were Gilbert’s Drug Store at 401-403 Broadway, E. Guthrie and Co. at 322-326 Broadway and J.H. Oehlschlaeger at 601 Broadway. However, other familiar names were under “confectioners.” They included Mrs. Ella Greek, Chris Haralambo, Paducah Candy Kitchen and James Vlaholeas who was now at 107 South Third Street. The day of getting large quantities of Paducah-made candy, however, seemed to be receding into the past.
“Candy Manufacturers” in 1922-1923 included Galloway, Paducah Candy Kitchen and Robert White of 728 South Third Street. The same “Candy Wholesalers” were there, with an addition of a name still familiar in the 21st century,” Wagner at 726 South Third. Under just plain “Confectioners” were American Confectionery at 135 Broadway (W.J. Lewis, proprietor), R.B. Anderson at 1703-1705 South Fourth Street, Emery’s Arcade Fountain at 502 Broadway, Chris Haralambo, Paducah Candy Kitchen, Palmer Chocolate Shop (by the Palmer Hotel), Peter Timmons at 1100 North Eighth Street and Vlaholeas. “Wagner” was Harold Wagner, and he was identified as having Wagner Candy Company. Although it sounds like a “candy maker,” American Confectionary sold ice cream, cold drinks, fresh fruit, nuts, tobacco, cigarettes and cigars as well as candy, according to a newspaper ad.
The Paducah News-Democrat, April 14, 1922, pg. 9
The Paducah News-Democrat, February 15, 1928, pg. 2
By 1924, Wagner had been selling cigarettes wholesale for a few years, in addition to candy and was in direct competition with DeWerthern Cigar and Tobacco Company, this from the News-Democrat which also reported “the jobbing of cigarettes…has become nearly five times as great as it was ten years ago, and of candies, which has trebled during that period.” Wagner Candy was there to reap the benefits. By this time, Frank Wagner had joined his brother Harold in the business, which also operated a store on South Third selling candies, cigars and novelties among other things.
The Caron’s directory for 1924-1925 had all the “Candy Wholesalers” from the year before and added Palmer Gillian’s Drug Store at Broadway and Fifth as a “Candy Retailer.” Wagner and Garrow were under “Candy Manufacturers.” There was a long list of “Confectioners,” beginning with P.P. Craneds at 626 Broadway, Isham Davis at 2246 Bridge, Chris Haralambo, Jones Bros. at 502 Broadway (also owners of the Dixie Café at 408 Broadway), J.J. Knight at 300 Ashcraft, Emanuel Nikis at 131 Broadway, the Paducah Candy Kitchen and Tilghman Confectionery (owned by Mrs. Vaden Smith) at 1001 Clark, which was a soda fountain across from the high school.
The Paducah News-Democrat, February 28, 1928, pg. 11
The Paducah Evening Sun, May 4, 1929, pg. 4
In 1926-1927, “Candy Retailers” were the Arcade Drug Co. at 500 Broadway and R.W. Walker Co. at 432 Broadway. Under “Candy Wholesale” was just DeWerthern. Other categories signaling confectioners had changed. Now, there was “Confectioners—Mfg,” which included only W.F. Smith at 531 Broadway, “Confectionery—Wholesale and Jobbers” which included only Wagner Candy Co., and “Confectionery and Ice Cream—Retail.” This last category had eight entries, some of which we have seen before: P.P. Craneds, Peter A. George (803 South Third), Chris Haralambo, Lena Nikias (329 South Third), Emanuel Nikis (now at 1721 North Fourth), Paducah Candy Kitchen, G.W. Parrish and J.F. Ham (931 South Third) and Tilghman Confectionery.
Then came some very big news. On April 30, 1927, the Paducah Evening Sun carried a story that a new candy factory was opening. Cleveland Gilliam had come back to town. The front-page article was short, but Paducah would finally be back on the map in the candy-manufacturing world. The article stated:
Candy Factory Opens
Paducah has a new industry. The Gilliam Candy company, located at 132 Broadway, began operation three weeks ago and is enjoying a good business. The concern is managed by Cleve Gilliam, an experienced candy manufacturer, and handles a wholesale business only. Mr. Gilliam has been in the candy business for 25 years, and was associated here with P. E. Stutz for a number of years. For the past thirteen years Mr. Gilliam has been engaged in the candy business in Chicago and Nashville, Tenn.
The new factory employs ten persons, and is equipped to manufacture an assortment of popular candies.
By the end of 1928, Gilliam had moved across Broadway to the Southern Hotel (Paducah Sun, 1986). We will return to the Gilliam story a bit later on, after seeing what the city directories available for this research and a few local newspapers had to say about confectionery in Paducah during this time period.
An ad in the Evening Sun in May 1929, just before Mother’s Day, said, simply, “HAROLD WAGNER The Candy Man.” On the same page, an ad for DeWERTHEN Co. said, “Don’t Forget SCHRAFFT’S Chocolates.”
As we move into the 1930s, no city directories were available until Caron’s 1933-1934 directory. Here we find Gilliam Candy now at 121 North Second as the only “Candy Manufacturer.” Gilliam was under “Confectioners—Mfg.” as well as Peggy Ann Candy Company at 110 North Second. (A search turned up no additional information about the Peggy Ann company.) Wagner Candy was listed under “Confectionery—Wholesale and Jobbers.“ The category “Confectionery and Ice Cream—Retail” had the following: Minnie M. Cissell, 1100 Jackson; Glen Herbert, 417 South Twelfth; J.W. Holland, 730 South Third; Paducah Candy Kitchen, 128 Broadway; Polar Bear (frozen custard), 1731 Broadway; Arch Presley, 1001 Clark; Othal Smith, 732 South Sixth. Smith was also a chauffeur for the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, so he must have made candy on the side.
The Paducah News-Democrat, May 4, 1929, pg. 4
The Paducah News-Democrat, May 4, 1929, pg. 4
The Caron’s directory for 1935-1936 listed Gilliam Candy Company under “Candy Manufacturers” and Wagner Candy Co. under “Candy—Wholesale Jobbers.” Wagner was also listed under “Confectionery—Wholesale and Jobbers” which seems like a duplication, and so was Barton Candy Co. of 433 North Fifth. Under “Confectionery and Ice Cream—Retail” were Glen Herbert, Kozy Confectionery (George Nikias, proprietor) at 110 South Third, Polar Bear, Swift’s Ice Cream Parlor at 3001 Broadway, Tilghman Tornado Confectionery, James Vlaholeas and Wilson Candy and Ice Cream Company at 119 South Third. According to the Paducah Sun-Democrat, the Barton Candy Company went bankrupt in 1936. And in 1938, Kozy Confectionery was listed in the Sun as heading for sale to pay for delinquent taxes.
The Baldwin and Young Directory for 1937 had only two categories for confectioners—retail and wholesale. Under “Retail” were Columbus Helmantolar at 828 Tennessee, two listings for Noble Park, two listings for the Polar Cottage and Philip Rogers at 1205 Broadway. On the “Wholesale” side were Gilliam Candy Co., Voor & Co. (wholesale tobacco, candy and novelties) at 126 North Third, Wagner Candy Co. and Wilson Candy and Ice Cream.
The Paducah Con Survey directory for 1939 listed Dunbar’s Drug Store at 130 Fountain Avenue and Albritton’s Avondale Pharmacy (Whitman’s candy) at 3143 Broadway under “Candy—Retail.” The “Candy—Wholesale” category had Gilliam, Voor, Wagner and Wilson. There were five listed for “Confectioners—Retail.” They were Harry Furnan in the Post Office lobby, two Noble Park locations, Olympia Candy Kitchen (George Nikias) at 224 Kentucky Avenue and Lonnie Williams at the Court House. It seems George Nikias, like his fellow Greek countryman James Vlaholeas, played musical chairs in the candy/fruit world in Paducah.
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 7, 1935, pg. 15
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 25, 1940, pg. 4
The Paducah Sun-Democrat carried an ad for Wagner Candy Company in November 1940, noting they were the distributor for Johnston Chocolates, with the slogan “Sweets to the Sweet.”
Caron’s 1941-1942 directory had few confectioners. There were no listings under “Candy” and only the old, familiar names under “Confectionery.” Under “Manufacturing” were Gilliam Candy and Paducah Candy Company (Herbert W. Manor and J.R. Waller) of 1705 Tennessee. Wagner Candy was under “Wholesale and Jobbers.” The “Confectionery and Ice Cream—Retail” category had Paducah Candy Co., Tilghman Tornado Confectionery, James Vlaholeas and Wilson Candy and Ice Cream.
Throughout his time in Paducah, James Vlaholeas was referred to as “the Greek confectioner” or “the Greek fruit merchant” in the local newspaper. Vlaholeas had plenty of press in the papers in early years. He appeared on the front page of the News-Democrat September 4, 1915 because he “was badly bitten by a tarantula” that jumped out of a stack of bananas. It was a good thing that Dr. A.H. Shemwell was across the street in the Palmetto café. Dr. Shemwell “rushed Vlaholeas to his office in the City National Bank building” and “there the wound was dressed after antiseptics and caustics had been applied.” The tarantula was killed, and Vlaholeas recovered.
The Paducah News-Democrat, September 5, 1915, pg. 1
When Vlaholeas died in 1943, his obituary in the Sun-Democrat said, “For many years he conducted a sidewalk candy shop at Third and Broadway.” The Sun said, “He immigrated to the United States from Sparta, Greece, in 1891.” He lived a couple of years in Memphis, Tennessee, before moving to Paducah.
Vlaholeas was prominent in the Greek community in Paducah, called upon several times to be a translator for other Greeks. Some of the other Greeks in Paducah were relatives. As you’ve seen, a number of Greek immigrants took jobs as confectioners and fruit sellers here. The Paducah Evening Sun ran an article April 7, 1921 with the headline: ”Paducah Greeks Celebrate Their National Holiday.” The paper reported, “This happens to be the One Hundredth anniversary of Grecian independence from Turkish rule….” and the paper said “Paducah’s Greek colony is celebrating today.” More specifically, the Sun wrote, “In Paducah today, a home-coming was held by various members of the city’s ‘Little Greece’—Chris Haralambo, John Jones, Jimmy Douglas, George Papatagororokondouroelankoboulon, the Mooney brothers (Toutoules), Jim Jones (Clahoulias), George Ploydeuris, Jim Vlaholeas, Prenos brothers, Texas Geremomapopalas, and others.”
Let’s pause here a minute to reflect before looking at the only two names in “candy” associated with candy in Paducah in the last half of the 20th Century. Gone were the small candy kitchens where the proprietor and maybe a helper or two turned out small batches of candies for the community. The small players, as well as larger firms, took a hit during the Depression of the 1930s. Candy was a luxury, not a necessity, and only the “strong” survived. Gilliam Candy was one of the survivors. So was Wagner Candy Company, but the latter primarily moved product, and much of that now was tobacco.
In the time period we’ve been walking through, it was often the case that Paducahans wanting to buy freshly-made candies stopped at one of the many fruit stands in the downtown area where candy and fruit were often paired. It was the norm. There were no supermarkets or big box stores that carried fruits not only in season, but all year round. And candies from around the world. Historian Fred Neuman saw much of that reasoning in September 1948 when he penned a column for the Paducah Sun-Democrat. We will look at what he had to say here. And, you will recognize some names he mentions.
Thirty-five years ago there must have been at least a dozen fruit stands in the business area on Broadway. Today there is not an exclusive retail fruit shop in the district, yet the town has doubled in size and more people are eating fruit than ever before. As an institution, the fruit stand in Paducah has passed out of the picture. My wife and I were talking about it last night and nostalgia dripped from the very beams of the living room.
Back in 1913 one of the leading fruit marts was owned by Louis Caporal. It was located at 419 Broadway and was so overloaded with peaches, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit and other delicious fruit, that much of it had to be stacked on the front sidewalk. The proprietor was a genial sort of fellow despite a characteristic frown. He held open till late at night when theater crowds dropped by for a sack of the delectable merchandise. Caporal carried on a thriving business.
I remember one afternoon when a young bride came up to Caporal’s stand and he tried to help her make selections. “Any limes, pomegranates, or honeydews?” Caporal suggested.
“No, thank you,” said the young wife.
“I’ve got some fine alligator pears,” Caporal persisted.
“Oh, you silly!” giggled the bride. “We don’t even keep a goldfish!”
__________
Chris Haralambo operated a thriving fruit stand at 304 Broadway. He also ran a confectionery in connection with the stand. Walking along Broadway in those days, it was no trouble to locate Haralambo’s place of business. If you were a stranger and inquired, you would probably be told, “Down the street there where those bananas are hanging out on the sidewalk.” He had a way of displaying a stalk of bananas that gave it the appearance of being the choicest fruit in the state. Haralambo is said to have accumulated a small fortune at the business. At least, he financed frequent visits to Greece and was reported to have been liberal with needy families in his native land.
__________
James Vlaholeas occupied a roomy building at 426 Broadway and always carried a large supply of appetizing fruit and vegetables. The California grapes at his stand sold freely, due to the displays he had which pushed over the edge of the sidewalk. A large awning protected his fruit from the afternoon’s sun. He was one of the first merchants to introduce tomatoes here in mid-winter.
__________
The firm of Walker & Farrow was in the fruit business at 423 Broadway for several years. And P.E. Stutz & Company, manufacturers of high grade candies, carried on a fruit trade in connection with a firstclass confectionery and retail candy sales. The store was located in the Palmer House. This firm, however, did not have the open front and all-out fruit appeal of trade of the smaller one-man shops which catered chiefly to the fruit angle. The Stutz store was accustomed to late hours, always holding open till crowds attending road shows at the old Kentucky theater poured from the building and spilled onto Broadway.
__________
The old fruit stands, fragrant and well-illuminated, yielded to the modern grocery. Refrigeration and other up-to-date methods of display and handling spelled the doom of the individual fruit dealer, who in the days gone by formed an important link in the business chain of the community.
It is now time to move along into more modern Paducah candy history. Before we hit the two big names—Gilliam and Wagner—we need to say a bit about the Wilson Candy Kitchen. Finding specifics about the firm has been challenging, with virtually nothing in local newspapers except ads. The city directories do a little better. As we saw, Wilson Candy and Ice Cream Company at 119 South Third Street was in the 1935-1936 city directory, but no owner was listed. However, a little research found the store was managed by B. M. Wilson, who was also manager in the 1937 directory.
By 1939, Wilson’s had been taken over by B. Huie Green. The year before Green was listed in the city directory as a bookkeeper for the Palmer House Hotel. His wife Pauline worked for Paducah Dry Goods Company. The Greens ran Wilson’s Candy for many years after this, with the last listing we saw with their name in the 1947-1949 city directory. During this time, the store moved from 119 South Third to 127 South Third. Skipping a number of years, the directory in 1959 noted that Wilson was now operated by Ewing Lee. Wilson Candy Company was also listed under “Confectionery—Retail.” Somewhere along the line, Wilson Candy added a lunch counter, selling hamburgers, 2 for 25 cents, among other things. Ads appeared in the Paducah Sun Democrat for both food and candy through 1959. It was still located at 127 South Third. The store was called both Wilson Candy and Wilson’s Candy in directories.
During research on Wilson Candy, we discovered that the early owner of the store, B. Huie Green, was better known later as B.H. Green, the “founder of B.H. Green and Son, Inc.” and a “past president of Associated General Contractors of Western Kentucky.” This came from Green’s obituary in the Paducah Sun November 29, 2001. He died at 85. When his wife Pauline died in 2010 at the age of 93, it was noted in the Sun that she was the oldest member of the Paducah Women’s Club.
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, December 18, 1952, pg. 20
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, October 18, 1953, pg. 25
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 17, 1959, pg. 13
Now, on to our last two big firms. Gilliam Candy was the in-town maker of candies, and according to the 1992 article by Bruce Gardner of the Paducah Sun that was mentioned earlier, Gilliam “helped a friend, Harold Wagner Sr., start his own wholesale business” in 1919. That business was Wagner Candy Company and it grew to be “one of Paducah’s largest companies.” Harold Wagner, Jr., who took over from his father told Gardner, “’Dad bought some product from Mr. Gilliam at the start. They were good friends.’” Wagner continued, “’I think it’s amazing that we’ve been buying from them (Gilliam) longer than they’ve been in business.’” Remember, although Gilliam was said to have a candy kitchen around the time Wagner went into business, he did not open the Gilliam factory until 1927.
In Caron’s city directory in 1918-1919, Harold Wagner was listed as a “student,” but by the next directory in 1920-1921, Harold had “candy” next to his name. He was boarding with his brother Frank, who was said to have a grocery at 726 South Third Street.
Paducah Sun reporter Bill Powell dedicated a column to Harold Wagner on February 14, 1969, and we will visit parts of it as we progress here. Powell wrote, “It was in the year 1919 that young (Harold) Wagner, who seemed always to be in a hurry to get someplace, established Wagner Candy Co. at 724 S. 3rd St.” That would have been next door to his brother Frank’s grocery. Powell went on, “He started out with $300 and a used Model T truck. Jim Pruett built a special bed on the little truck and Wagner started roving around the area selling candy and all kinds of confections from it.” The occasion for the column was Wagner’s retirement from the business.
Wagner Candy soon took over Frank’s grocery site at 726 South Third. We know that the “candy shop” as the News-Democrat referred to it February 2, 1926, sold “beads, candy, cigars and novelties.” The reason for the short article in the newspaper was because a 15-year-old youth was “arrested…by detectives of the police department and is alleged to have entered the store and taken a quantity” of the items listed above.
As we noted earlier, Cleveland Gilliam, now known as “Cleve,” returned to Paducah in 1927 and opened the company that would make candy in Paducah for the next three-quarters of a century. Within a few months, Gilliam Candy appeared in a list of Paducah’s industries published by the News-Democrat on September 29, 1927. The paper noted that Gilliam had 20 employees and would have a payroll of $20,000.
Gilliam quickly joined the ranks of businesses supporting local industrial growth by joining the “Believers” club. On January 30, 1928, the Evening Sun reported that Gilliam had signed the membership pledge. The paper reported, “The fund created by the membership fees will be used exclusively to secure new industrial plants in Paducah.” Five hundred members were needed to pay “$2 a month for twelve months…” to secure the $12,000 needed for the project.
The next year, seeking to expand their customer base, Gilliam Candy and Harold Wagner Candy took part in the Greater Paducah Exposition, a week-long event held in the Exposition Center at Second and Jefferson to display “home manufactured goods.” The News-Democrat reported on October 28 that the “display” was “being made for the purpose of allowing Paducah citizens to become better acquainted with products made here.”
A Gilliam newspaper ad in 1929 proclaimed, “The skill of expert candy-makers—the best of materials are combined in producing our Candies. We know they’re good and we guarantee that they will satisfy.” The ad listed its feature candies: “5 cent Big Stick Peppermint, Peanut Butter Stick Candy, Plain or Wrapped Stick in All Popular Flavors, Peanut Bars—Celophane Wrapped.” In addition, there was the “Shredded Sweet Biscuit, A Tasty, Toasty Crunchy Delight—Layers of Toothsome Candy with the Finest Peanut Butter between them and an Outside Coating of the Finest Nutty Flavored Toasted Cocoanut.” Gilliam also made “Peco Bars, The most delightful combination—Choice Candy, Finest Spanish Peanuts and Wide Shred Cocoanut—and a big generous bar for only 5 cents.” The newspaper ad also noted that they were wholesale only and advised people to “ask for Gilliam’s Candies at Your Dealer.” Cleve Gilliam even got patents for his Peco Bars (Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office, Volume 389) and for the Shredded Sweet Biscuit (Index of Trademarks Issued from the United States Patent Office, Vol 928).
In less than two years, Gilliam expanded its operations. The Evening Sun of May 6, 1929 reported the company had “moved into much larger headquarters, with five times the floor space…” on two floors at 113 North Second Street. The paper noted advances Cleve Gilliam was instituting at his factory. “When he opened his candy factory here, he started cooking with coke furnaces and now they have the most up-
The Paducah Evening Sun, May 6, 1929, pg. 39
to-date gas furnaces.” Employing six workers when they opened, the company now has 14, the article said. As far as product, “The output when they started was only about 750 pounds daily, but they manufactured on an average of 1700 pounds daily the past year.” It was pointed out that the 1700 pounds of candy made daily used 1500 pounds of sugar, or a ton and a half. The Sun also said Gilliam manufactures “a general line of staple candies” that include “stick candy, peanut and cocoanut candies, peanut butter, (and) fudges….” Continuing, the paper said “fancy chocolate candies will be added” if there was enough demand.
A Paducah Sun reporter waxed poetically when sent to Gilliam March 16, 1931. The article was to center on the company’s contribution “to the city’s economic structure; but to the writer it was far more interesting because of the huge copper caldrons that simmer and boil, and the fascinating machines that pull candy, and the delightful odors that move from one end of the building to the other, leaving you as eager as a small boy with a penny in his hand, waiting for the clerk to sell him a stick of candy.” The heat is intense in the caldrons, the reporter noted, “as intense as 312 degrees before the mixture is poured.” And, he continued, “The plant is spotlessly clean and sanitary.”
That stick candy was Cleve Gilliam’s specialty, noted the reporter. “His workers turn it out by the hundred feet, in endless sticks, and it is cut evenly and rapidly on a long table. The sticks are made in varying sizes and colors.” At this time, Gilliam employed between 26 and 35 workers, depending on the season, and the company made candy 365 days a year. “In the course of a year,” the paper said, “it manufactures thousands of pounds—many tons in fact, of candy.” The article continued, “The name of Paducah, Kentucky appears on every stick and every bar, so you can see what that means to Paducah as an advertisement.”
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, March 16, 1931, pg. 7
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, March 16, 1931, pg. 7
In July of 1931, another Paducah business, Thomas Service Company at 5th and Jefferson, used Gilliam candy sticks in a promotion to sell Lion brand gas. It was one of those attempts to get to parents through their offspring. A display ad in the Sun July 12, 1931 said, Hey You Kids! We have just contracted with Mr. Gilliam the Candy Man on North Second Street, for TEN THOUSAND of his FAMOUS Old Fashioned Peppermint and Lemon Candy sticks. To EVERY little girl between the ages of one and seventy we will give one stick of this FAMOUS GILLIAM candy when they are in a car buying our LION Gasoline, whether it be one gallon or a tank full. Of course we won’t slight the boys, say from the littlest to fifteen years.”
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, July 12, 1931, pg. 14
By June of 1933, “Increasing business from the nineteen states covered by Gilliam…has the factory behind in production over 3,500 boxes….” This, according to an article in the Sun. “’We are working over-time, and working every day,’ said Mr. Gilliam, ‘but every mail brings new orders. This is particularly gratifying and encouraging as the first five months of 1933 were by far the best in our history.’”
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 20, 1933, pg. 5
In spite of the Depression, Gilliam moved ahead and expanded even more. On August 21, 1933, the Paducah Sun-Democrat reported that “forty-two experienced men and women were…engaged in the manufacture, wrapping, packing and shipping” of the Gilliam candies to those 19 states, as mentioned above. Besides the in-house workers, Gilliam had eleven traveling salesmen. “Every week since it started the factory has been in constant operation without a single shut-down….” the reporter noted. Gilliam told him business was so good “’that we have had to add additional workmen and work our entire force overtime to supply demand.’” Even so, the candy maker said, “’We are now between ten and twelve thousand boxes behind in shipments.’” The increasing sales had also necessitated “a new 2-story addition….” the Sun reported.
During the 1930s both Gilliam Candy and Wagner Candy used a familiar marketing tool to expand their name recognition. Both companies sponsored sports teams. Results of such competition appeared in the Sun-Democrat. Gilliam fielded a baseball team in 1933 in the American League of the Municipal Playground Baseball Association. Wagner sponsored a bowling team in 1935 in the City League.
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, May 14, 1933, pg. 13
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, October 25, 1935, pg. 13
And Gilliam apparently used another method to spread its name around town in 1936—an essay contest. We don’t know the criteria, but a very positive piece on the candy company appeared in the Sun on May 13, with the headline: “SHIP PRODUCTS TO MANY STATES.” It was almost an editorial in that its comments about Gilliam were quite subjective, concluding with “We believe the Gilliam Candy Co. deserves extended mention for their commendable methods and their increasing patronage.” At the bottom of the column was: “Prize Essay Story. Advertisement.”
A setback for many businesses in downtown Paducah came as a result of the 1937 Ohio River flood. In Bill Powell’s column in the 1969 Sun, he noted that “the sunshine vanished for a few dreary weeks in 1937 when the flood wiped out Wagner’s business and others in Paducah.” Gilliam was affected too. But neither firm looked back and continued to grow.
We turn again to historian Fred Neuman and his “Sidelights of Paducah” column in the Paducah Sun. Here is what he had to say about Gilliam Candy on January 28, 1941:
When Cleve Gilliam started the Gilliam Candy Company here back in 1927 he really started something. Today it is one of the leading candy manufactories in the south, employing an average of seventy people the year round. Its products are shipped to twenty-four states. The firm specializes in hard stick candy, but tons of coconut, peanut and peanut butter candies are shipped out along with the various flavors of sweet rods.
Like most going concerns, the Gilliam Candy Company began on a small scale. It has moved ahead steadily, outgrowing its quarters every few years. The firm will move from North Second street to a more spacious building at 220-226 South Second street within the next two weeks. This is the fifth time the Gilliam company has sought larger quarters.
The building on South Second street is undergoing changes preparatory to removal of the plant, including a new concrete ground floor and hardwood on the second floor. Floor space in the new quarters totals 34,000 square feet, approximately a fourth more than in the old building.
Mr. Gilliam, veteran candymaker, has been at the business all his life and has placed several original brands on the market. All of the firm’s products are staple, all-year candies, the national sale of which affords steady employment for Paducah workers.
A piece in the “Weekly Business Review” of the Sun-Democrat on March 17, 1941 showed the Wagner Candy Company building at 724-726 South Third Street, with its “fleet of five trucks which service retailers throughout Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois.” Continuing, the paper noted, “Candies and confections of all kinds, cigars, specialty and novelty items by the thousands, are carried in stock at all times.” Wagner was “exclusive distributors for the famous Nestle’s line of milk chocolate and candies…” and also for Johnston’s chocolates.
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 25, 1940, pg. 4
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 30, 1942, pg. 12
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, March 17, 1941, pg. 7
Gilliam Candy was the biggest candy manufacturer in Paducah in the 1940s, and Wagner was the biggest wholesale distributor of candy and tobacco products. A few other firms came and went. The Sun-Democrat reported in October of 1946 that two businessmen from Louisville opened the “V-Ray Candy Company, wholesale distributors of candies, at 222 Kentucky Avenue.” They planned “to distribute candies in 15 counties in western Kentucky, two counties in southern Illinois, and two counties in southern Indiana….” However, one of the partners died, and the business was liquidated in 1949.
Change came again for Gilliam Candy in 1944 when Cleve Gilliam sold his 16-year-old company “to a group of out-of-state businessmen” as the Sun-Democrat reported on June 13. The new owners from “Chicago, New York, Memphis and Georgia” were to take over July 1. The paper said, “The sale includes all the company’s equipment and stock” for which Gilliam said he received “’in the neighborhood of $50,000….’” The firm would still be called Gilliam Candy Company. The 62-year-old Cleve Gilliam said he was retiring.
Years began to pass and in 1947 the Caron city directory showed there was just one new name under “Confectioners,” that of Will Waltmon, at 120 North Second Street. It can be said that the community’s collective “sweet tooth” was no longer being satisfied by numerous local candy makers. Big business had arrived. Gilliam was still producing candy for retail firms and Wagner, advertising the company as “Jobbers Since 1919,” had a large ad in the 1947 directory, saying its wholesale products included “CANDIES-CIGARS, SCHOOL SUPPLIES-PAPER PRODUCTS-DRUGS AND SUNDRIES-FOUNTAIN SUPPLIES-NOTIONS-NOVELTIES.”
We look to more recent articles in the Paducah Sun to find out what took place at Gilliam and Wagner after this time. We’ll start with Cleve Gilliam’s passing.
His obituary in the Paducah Sun-Democrat on September 14, 1957, noted that Gilliam had “turned a small 3rd St. candy kitchen into a 35-state business” at the peak of his operation. Gilliam had spent 50 years of his life around candy. When he died, he was 75.
Harold Lee Wagner, Sr. died on June 6, 1971, two years after retiring from the company and turning it over to his son, Harold Jr. He was 69. Wagner’s obituary in the Paducah Sun called him “one of Paducah’s leading citizens.” Among other things, “He helped to establish the Paducah Bank and served as one of its directors.” He was also one of the founders of the National Candy Wholesalers Association. At the time of his death, Wagner was serving “800 retail customers in a 13-county area, employing five full-time salesmen and two assistants.”
Two months later, the Sun reported, “Harold Wagner Jr. has been named a director of the National Candy Wholesalers Association” at its Boston meeting. “At age 27, he is the youngest member of the board.
Wagner trucks at the old Shopper’s Fair building at 911 Joe Clifton Drive, McCracken County Public Library, Broadway United Methodist Church Collection.
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, June 24, 1951, pg. 14
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, February 24, 1954, pg. 16
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, December 4, 1954, pg. 21
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 3, 1955, pg. 23
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, November 28, 1955, pg. 10
The late 1970s and early 1980s was a time period dominated by physical changes to the area along and north of the Ohio riverfront in Paducah. Old buildings were coming down and a huge convention center and hotel complex were being discussed. On October 19, 1979, Bill Bartleman of the Paducah Sun reported that Wagner Candy Company “sold its property at 300 Jefferson St., as part of the site for the proposed convention center.” Before moving to the 42,000 square foot building on Jefferson Street in 1970, Wagner had been at 724 South Third Street. Now, the company was headed for the old Shoppers Fair building at 911 Joe Clifton Drive. The younger Wagner said, “modernization and renovation of the Shoppers Fair building will begin soon” with spring 1980 as the target date for opening the new facility serving customers in western Kentucky, southern Illinois, southern Indiana and part of northwest Tennessee.
Preparing to move into its new home in the summer of 1980, Wagner decided to close the Acme Catalog Showroom which it had operated as part of its wholesale business. An auction was being held July 23, 1980, and part of the ad appearing in the classified section of the Paducah Sun read: “This is a complete liquidation of Catalog Sale Items. Wagner Candy has moved to its new location and has decided to discontinue this part of its operation. There is several thousand dollars worth of merchandise included.” Among the items to be sold were watchbands, sewing machines, portable mixers, brass shoe spoons, sleeping bags, tennis balls, cases of coffee filters, a cherry bedroom suite, cedar chests, lamps and kitchen utensils.
Several years after the move to Joe Clifton Drive, the 90-year-old building on Jefferson that Wagner had occupied and which was now owned by the Convention Center Board was called a “fire trap” by city building inspectors and the fire department. Berry Craig of the Paducah Sun reported on September 26, 1985, that the old brick building was being taken down, even though some “historic preservationists say it should have been saved.” Bricks from the structure were removed, cleaned and stacked to be taken to the Holly Springs-Jackson (Mississippi) Brick Company for building new homes. The company president told Craig, “Many people like the antique style of the old bricks.”
Time passed, and Wagner continued to grow. Then came another change. On November 24, 1994, Sun business reporter Bruce Gardner wrote that GSC (Grocery Supply Company) Enterprises had signed a letter of intent to buy Wagner Candy company, the “nation’s fifth-largest tobacco and candy distributor.” Harold Wagner said, “It was a difficult decision to sell a company that has been a part of your family for 75 years.” But he told Gardner he thought it was the correct decision for all concerned. According to the paper, GSC planned to operate in Paducah under the Wagner name, at least initially. “All of the company’s 138 Paducah workers will be offered the chance to work for GSC,” said the chief financial officer. GSC was based in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Wagner was now selling candy, groceries and tobacco products in six states--Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri. The Sun also reported, “Wagner, one of the largest Paducah-based companies, has nearly $70 million a year in sales….” Harold Wagner, Jr. would remain as a consultant to GSC.
GSC had first said the Wagner name would stay, and the firm was called “Wagner Candy Company a division of Grocery Supply Company,” but Bruce Gardner of the Sun reported in the spring of 1996 the company was “eliminating the Wagner name totally.” Gardner also reported that the name change was costing GSC $100,000. Everything with the Wagner name on it had to be changed, down to stationery.
Some of Wagner’s employees stayed a long time with the company, employees like Danny Pierce of Benton, Kentucky, who was retiring in 1996 after a 40-year stint. An article in the Paducah Sun on April 30 noted that Pierce “went to work as an $8-dollar-a-day warehouse worker, usually putting in 10- to 12-hour days….” Eventually, he earned a promotion to part-time sales. “For 13 years he drove a truck and served customers; for more than half that time he was general manager, as well.” The Sun’s Bruce Gardner wrote, “When Harold Wagner Sr. fell ill, Pierce took over day-to-day operations of the company” and later joined Harold Wagner Jr. to “form a team that led Wagner Candy to explosive growth.” He stayed through the transition when GSC bought Wagner and was now retiring, at a time when the company had “115 people selling to more than 3,000 customers in six states within 200 miles of Paducah.”
Within four years, even the name GSC would fade from the Paducah business community. On
August 31, 2000, Paducah Sun’s Joe Walker reported that GSC planned to “close its distribution facility here October 27, eliminating about 50 jobs and ending a business established 81 years ago.” Workers “told the Sun they were notified...of the closing and given 60 days’ notice.” The company said that “distribution work will be moved to Sulphur Springs.” GSC later released a statement: “We believe the consolidation will be a very positive move to strengthen the overall company structure and improve efficiency…”
Harold Wagner Jr. died August 16, 2021. He was 77.
The Paducah Sun-Democrat, March 11, 1958, pg. 9
Moving back to Gilliam now. The candy company rolled along until, as the Paducah Sun reported September 15, 1957, the “average annual payroll of the company is $100,000.” The Gilliam firm was still packaging candy under the “Blue Grass” label used half a century earlier by the Stutz Candy Company of Paducah. Using a steam boiler, the paper reported that the candy plant “can turn out an excess of 2,000 pounds an hour.” By this time, automation was being used to cut and then wrap candy sticks “in a specially constructed room that is (air) conditioned and dehumidified.”
The major portion of Gilliam’s business was in stick candy, “from one cent pieces to a 25 cent size. In addition, they…bag various types of mixed candies in Saran bags. Pure sugar candy…is packed in one and two-pound boxes.” Two coconut candies were also still being made. By now, Gilliam candies were sent to 20 states. The paper went on, “An average year-round complement of 40 employees turn out the millions of pieces of candy and their tenure of service with the company speaks well for it. Five of the employees have been with Gilliam 20 years….”
Things seemed to be running smoothly at the candy plant at 224 South Second Street until early in 1969. During the evening of February 26, a fire raced through the building. Firemen fought the blaze for two hours, but as the Paducah Sun reported the next day, “the building was a total loss.” Paducah fire chief Tommy Rothrock said it was “his belief that it (the fire) started in the rear of the building and spread forward.” Rothrock also told the paper, “’It was a wonder the fire did not burn down the entire block….’” There was speculation the fire started in a boxcar parked in the back. No arson was suspected. At this time, Gilliam had 39 employees and was “a branch of the Howard B. Stark Co., Pewaukee, Wis.”
Within days of the fire, a story appeared in the Paducah Sun saying the parent company of Gilliam intended to rebuild the plant in Paducah. An editorial in the Sun March 6, 1969, praised the owners for deciding to rebuild. Said the newspaper, “Gilliam is one of the city’s older manufacturing concerns, and while it is small in size has nevertheless been a significant contributor to the local economy.”
A new home for Gilliam Candy opened the beginning of August in 1969, just five months after it was destroyed by fire. The Sun reported the new facility was at 2401 Powell Street in the Tyler Park Urban Renewal area on the city’s southside. Said the paper, “…the new plant gives the company the capacity to produce four times the amount of candy possible in the old plant. The new building has 24,000 square feet of space and eventually will be expanded to include 60,000 square feet of floor space.” While it was waiting to start candy production again, the company operated out of temporary offices in the Irvin Cobb Hotel.
According to the newspaper, the new Gilliam plant “includes such equipment as a modular wrapping machine handling 300 one cent sticks per minute and a pair of high volume cookers with capacities of several thousand pounds an hour.” Besides the new equipment, the building has “a cooking mezzanine…truck docks and its own rail siding.” Gilliam Candy was approaching 50 years in business and employed “between 40 and 50 people, who aggregate over 550 years of experience.”
The Paducah Sun reported April 22, 1973, that Bruce W. Pope had been appointed president of the candy company. Pope came to the firm after holding sales and marketing positions with several pulp and paper-making firms for 18 years, including Mead paper. In 1978, Pope gained full ownership.
As noted above, many of those going to work for Gilliam stayed with Gilliam for years. One of those was Roy B. Snyder who was retiring in 1978 after 50 years with the company. He told Paula Donner of the Paducah Sun he began working after the eighth grade when his mother died, leaving his father to care for eight children. Snyder started in 1929 “as a shipping clerk and eventually became a candy helper and a candy maker.” One of his early jobs “was to get to work before the candy makers and load the…furnaces with kindlin’ and coke.” As he said, “’the building would get plumb full of smoke and sometimes a passerby would get excited and call a fire truck.’” Of course, when Snyder began work as a candymaker “he had to spin the candy out and judge the size of each individual stick before cutting it.” By the time he retired, machines were doing that work.
In a Paducah Sun report in November of 1982, Wesley Miller told reporter Dona Rains that he had been laid off from another job and found a new one in the shipping department at Gilliam in 1929 as well. The Marshall County native said, “’I always liked candy.’” Miller was unemployed for two years during the Depression but other than that, he worked for Gilliam until he retired in 1978. He moved from shipping to being a helper in the candy kitchen to becoming a candy maker in 1937.
Miller told Rains that “he saw the company change ownership four times and saw production go from 800 pounds a day in the work-by-hand days of 1930 to 20,000 pounds a day….” He admitted that his favorite Gilliam candy was the Old Paduke, the “10 1/2-inch long, five ounce old fashion peppermint stick.” But for 25 years, Miller also made “some peanut and coconut bars by hand.” When the plant became mechanized in the 1960s, Miller moved to “preparing 100-pound batches of candy for a rolling machine that stretches the sugary mass into sticks.”
Gilliam Candy Display at Peoples Bank, McCracken County Public Library Peoples Bank Collection
In August of 1986, Gilliam Candy Company changed hands again. This time James Lacy of Cookeville, Tennessee “bought full interest in Gilliam from Bruce Pope,” according to the Paducah Sun. Pope would stay on as consultant. The paper noted that, “Lacy had owned a Cookeville firm, Paul’s Candy Company which he has closed for consolidation into Gilliam.” Lacy said he wanted to add some 10,000 square feet of warehouse space. Pope told the Sun “recent years have brought annual sales growth in the 10-15 percent range.” He continued, saying that “Gilliam has reduced its dependence on holiday-oriented sales, eliminating seasonal layoffs….” Now, he noted, “The company sells nationwide through confection and food brokers to wholesalers, discount chains, fund-raising organizations and the military.”
The public remains fascinated with candy-making, mechanized or not, and on October 4, 1992, as Gilliam was celebrating its 65th year in business and preparing for the upcoming holiday season, Bruce Gardner of the Paducah Sun decided to share some of Gilliam’s numbers. “About 900,000 trademark Old Paduke candy sticks will come off the production lines. Fifteen tons of the company’s one-pound barber poles will be shipped. Each day 35,000 pounds of candy, sticks, drops, barrels and mints are wrapped and trucked to wholesalers and retailers.”
Although Gilliam was known for its hard candy, the Sun reported in the fall of 1992 that “Gilliam branched out beyond hard candy for the first time in more than a decade with the January 1990 acquisition of Fair Play Caramels…” known for their “taffy candies—Kits and B.B. Bats.” Company president Brian Duwe said wholesalers buy much of the 8 million pounds of candy Gilliam turns out each year, “but the company has large sales to retailers such as Dollar General and Cracker Barrel, a major buyer of old-fashioned sticks and candy drops….” Gilliam was also still supplying Wagner Candy in Paducah.
In February 1994, Donna Groves of the Paducah Sun reported that Gilliam “expanded its line of old-fashioned candies with acquisition of Fine Products Co., of Atlanta, which makes Sophie Mae peanut brittle. Company chairman Jim Lacy said this would “strengthen Gilliam’s selling power. The more things you have to offer them (candy buyers). the more likely you are to sell them anything.”
On Friday, August 17, 2001, Gilliam experienced a small fire. The Paducah Sun reported, “The plant was back to half its normal production level Saturday…” and was expected to resume full production by Monday.
Two years later, Gilliam Candy, one of Paducah’s oldest businesses, closed. C.D. Bradley of the Paducah Sun reported on March 29, 2003 that the parent company of Gilliam had sold the firm to Quality Candy of Julian, California. Quality had a plant in Mexico. Chief executive officer Jim Lacy said, “Four corporate employees will remain in Paducah, but the plant at 2401 Powell St. will soon be up for sale.” About 50 employees would be losing their jobs. Lacy went on to say “the availability of cheap sugar on world market” was a deciding factor in the plant’s closing. The fact that “American companies have to pay more for domestic sugar, (makes) it too difficult for small businesses to compete,” he said. Gilliam was largest division and its “flagship” according to Lacy. “’It was the heart of the company, which makes it most difficult to shut it down,’” he continued. Quality Candy said it would “continue to sell hard candy under the Gilliam name.”
In May of 2015, Troutt General Store on the corner of Fourth and Harrison in Paducah had a grand opening. In its display ad in the Paducah Sun, it prominently featured the fact that it carried “Gilliam Candy Sticks.”
In 2023, Gilliam candy is distributed by wholesaler Old Time Candy. Their online store features many “old time” candies, including Gilliam candy sticks. In Paducah, Gilliam sticks are sold at Troutt General Store.
You can also find Gilliam candies at the Candy Bar at 108 Broadway, at the Cracker Barrel and at Craze Candy in Kentucky Oaks Mall.
There is one more candy-making concern we must mention, actually two of them, before we sign off. The first is The Chocolate Factory, for years a familiar sight at 109 Market House Square.
The Chocolate Factory was started in 1976 by Sandra Smith and Shirley Caldwell, two sisters. According to the Paducah Sun, the sisters and a friend, Linda Meherg “went to a candy demonstration and fell in love with the art of making chocolate.” They opened their first store in Golconda, Illinois. It was run by Jennine Searcy, Sandra Smith’s daughter. The Candy Factory was on North 32nd Street before it landed by the Market House about 1996. The Chocolate Factory closed in February of 2017.
The Paducah Sun, October 22, 1979
Our last local candy maker to mention is Brandi Rust, who told Ellen O’Nan of the Paducah Sun that she “grew up working in her mom and aunt’s store, The Chocolate Factory. For five years, Rust made candies at her store, Poppy’s Chocolate and Coffee Shop at 4793 Village Square Drive. The store was closed in October 2023 at the time of this writing.
With no more candy made by hand in Paducah, this is almost a bittersweet ending to our “Sweet Paducah” story. But some of those early candy-making people we learned about made comebacks, or new sources of hand-made candy arrived on the scene, so we will leave with a bit of nostalgia for what has passed and confidence that we’ll see a sweeter future in this old river city.
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The Paducah Sun, 08 Feb 2020
Photos by Johanna Comisak Rhodes
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The Paducah Sun, 22 Oct 1979, Page 21
The Paducah Sun, 13 Oct 1980, Page 8
The Paducah Sun, 13 Feb 2019, Page A1
Index
Acme Catalog Showroom, 38
Albritton’s Avondale Pharmacy, 24
Allegretti, 11
American Confectionery, 21
Anderson, R.B., 21.
Arcade Drug Co., 22
B.B. Bats, 42
Barton Candy Co., 23
Beiderman, Jake, 5
Biederman, Isaac, 4
Blanke-Wenneker Candy Company, 14
Blue Grass candy, 7, 10, 40
Bonds, E.K., 16
Bonomo, S., 4
Caldwell, Shirley, 47
Calissi, R.C., 3, 4, 5
Candy Kitchen, 15
Caporal, Louis, 16, 19, 20, 25
Cissell, Minnie M., 23
Clark, John, 17
Clark, Stephen, 6
Conomow & Co., 5
Cosby, J.R., 17, 20
Cracker Barrel, 42, 45
Craneds, P.P., 22
Craze Candy, 45
Curtis, Charles H., 5
D.C. Lovelace Candy Co., 15
Dauberman, Christopher, 3
Davis, Isham, 22
DeGraffenreid, H.M., 14
Delicatessen, 5
DeWerthern Cigar and Tobacco Co., 21, 22
Dillehiunt, Hattie, 20
Dixie Café, 22
Dollar General, 42
Douglas, Jimmy, 25
Dunbar’s Drug Store, 24
E. Guthrie and Co., 21
Edwards, Leigh and Co., 16, 17
Elliott, Jettie, 20
Emery’s Arcade Fountain, 21
Fair Play Caramels, 42
Fine Products Co., 43
Fisher, J.G., 4, 5
Freeman, E.N., 20
Furnan, Harry, 24
Garrow, Milton S., 17, 21, 22
George, Peter A., 20, 22
Gilbert’s Drug Store, 21
Gilliam Candy Co., 22, 23,24, 25, 27,29,30,31, 32, 33, 34, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45
Gilliam, Cleve, 15, 22, 28,29,30,32, 33, 35
Gilliam, Harry L., 14
Gimbioure, James, 16
Goekel, H., 5
Goodrich, Jeff, 5
Greek, Mrs. Ella, 21
Greek, William, 17, 20
Green, B. Huie (B.H.), 26
Green, Pauline, 26
Greenwell and McKane, 4
Grocery Supply Co. (GSC), 38, 39
Grouse, S.C., 4
Gunther’s, 6, 11
Ham, J.F., 22
Hand, H.W., 4
Hannin. George, 5
Haralambo, Chris, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26
Hawkins, Albert S., 9
Helmamtolar, Columbus, 24
Herbert, Glen, 23
Holland, J.W., 23
Hormuth, Edward, 4
Housman, T.F., 5, 16
Husbands, Matt, 19, 20
Imperial Confectionery Co., 19
Johnston Chocolates, 24, 25
Jones Bros., 22
Jones, Jim, 25
Jones, John, 25
Jones, Mattie, 20
Jones, Thomas, 3
Kentucky Candy Co., 17, 19, 20
King Edward Cigars, 36, 39
Kirchhoff, Frank, 4, 5
Kits, 42
Knight, J.J, 22.
Kozy Confectionery, 23
Kreuter & Nieman, 5
Kreutzer, F & M, 5
Kruger, F.A., 3
Lacy, James, 42
Lacy, Jim Jr., 43
Lapaleas, J.V., 6
Lawrence, F.M., 5
Lee, Ewing, 26
Leiber, B.M., 3, 4
Lennox Candy, 18
LeRoy, Marion, 5
Levan, W.N. Jr., 20
Lewis, W.J, 21
“Little Greece”, 25
Lowney’s, 6, 11
Manor, Herbert W., 24
Mansfield, Sarah L., 5
Manzionati, C., 4
Matalas, John, 20
Matil, C.V., 3
McGlathery, F.M., 8
McGlathery, J.W., 8
McMinnimy, W.E., 16
Meherg, Linda, 47
Miller, Charles, 16
Miller, Wesley, 41
Mooney Brothers, 25
N.C. Petty and Co., 21
Negley, Mrs. Frances, 3
Neuman, Fred, 25, 33
Nichols. Jim, 18
Nicklais, George, 20, 23, 24
Nikias, Lena, 22
Nikis, Emanuel, 22
Nolen, R.T., 17
Oehlschlaeger, J.H., 21
Old Paduke, 41, 42
Olympia Candy Kitchen, 24
Overly, Edward, 4
Overstreet, William C., 4
Paducah Candy Kitchen, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Palmer Chocolate Shop, 21
Palmer Gillian’s Drug Store, 22
Palmetto café, 24
Parkins, Budd, 5
Parrish, G.W., 22
Paul’s Candy Co., 42
Peggy Ann Candy Co., 23
Penn, Peggy, 46
Peter’s Milk Chocolate, 13
Pierce, Danny, 38, 39
Pitt & Wilton, 5
Ploydeuris, George, 25
Polar Bear, 23
Polar Cottage, 24
Pope, Bruce W., 40, 42
Poppy’s Chocolate and Coffee Shop, 49
Powell, Bill, 28, 33
Prenos brothers, 25
Presley, Arch, 23
Quality Candy, 43
R.W. Walker Co., 22
Rasor, L.P., 4, 5
Reams, Hezekiah, 17
Rees Lee, 9
Robinson, Vernie, 20
Rogers, Lon T., 14, 15
Rogers, Philip, 24
Roof, Jerome T., 17
Rosenthal, A., 4
Rothrock, Tommy, 40
Rust, Brandi, 49
Sappeli, Albert, 5, 7
Schrafft’s Chocolates, 22, 37
Searcy, Jennine, 47
Shemwell, Dr. A.H., 24
Shoppers Fair, 38
Smith, Mrs. Vaden, 22
Smith, Otha, 23l
Smith, Sandra, 47
Snyder, Roy B., 41
Sophie Mae, 43
Standard Candy Company, 15
Stanley, J. H., 17, 20
Stutz Candy Company, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 26, 40
Stutz, Lucy, 9
Stutz, P.E., 5, 7, 9, 15
Swift’s Ice Cream Parlor, 23
The Candy Bar, 45
The Chocolate Factory, 46, 47
The Peoples Restaurant, 16
Thomas Service Co., 31
Tilghman Confectionery, 22
Tilghman Tornado Confectionery, 23, 24
Townsend, Elmer, 20
Troutt General Store, 43, 44
Troutt, Crystal, 42
Vaughn, W. J., 17
Viviani. Louis, 17
Vlaholeas, Jim, 6, 7, 18, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26
Voor & Co., 24
V-Ray Candy Co., 34
Wagner Candy Co., 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 42
Wagner, Frank, 21, 28
Wagner, Harold Jr., 27, 35, 39
Wagner, Harold, Sr., 21, 27, 28, 35, 38
Walker and Farrow, 26
Waller, J. R., 24
Waltmon, Will, 34
Wandell, William, 3
Weil, Andy Jr., 4
Weil, Julius and Levy, 4
Weil, Julius, 4. 5
White, Robert, 21
Whitman’s Candy, 24
Williams, Lonnie, 24
Wilson Candy and Ice Cream Co., 23, 24, 26, 27
Wilson, B.M., 26