Candy Hearts

“Valentine, Be Mine may be heard but once a year, but the loving thoughts and warm feelings should never disappear.”—SLS

How many times have you spelled love with tiny candy hearts? Do you know how it all started – when, where and by whom? Well, awaken to a little trivia and share with your family and friends to make the day a little more interesting.

1847
Oliver R. Chase of Boston invents and patents the first American candy machine, a lozenge cutter. This marks the founding of the nation's candy industry, the beginning of commercial manufacture. With his brother, Silas Edwin, he founds Chase and Company, the pioneer member of the NECCO family.

1866
Conversation hearts were invented by Daniel Chase, brother of NECCO's founder. These first hearts had printed paper notes tucked inside. The lengthy, old-fashioned sayings included such wistful thoughts as "Please send a lock of your hair by return mail."

Present Day
Every Valentine's Day the company presents new messages on the tiny colored hearts that have been a holiday tradition since the Civil War. NECCO must produce about 100,000 pounds of the candy hearts every day in order to meet the Valentine demand, when about 8 billion hearts are sold in six weeks.

What is your favorite Conversation Heart? The poem Candy Hearts offers a quick refresher of some original sayings. . .

 Candy Hearts

February brings expressions of love
Stamped on tiny candy hearts

Which ones to eat, which ones to share?

Questions arise before sending starts

Valentine, Be Mine, the ones of first choice

Add up to more than just a few

Intended for those very special friends

Some of whom even receive two

Next in line, a choice of mine

Pink with pink letters, Cutie Pie

Sweet and cute as a button

The ones nobody would deny

Let me see, the next one I’ll eat

Kiss Me, the blue one, quickly disappears

My lips alone enjoy this treat

As a sly grin instantly appears

Then there lay the perfect pair

Best Friend they both represent

Expressly set aside for buddies

With whom the best times I spent

What’s left? Sweetheart, True Love

Love You Forever, all meant for just one

Gathered, bagged, tied with a string

Stored in a box ’til time to be undone

©2009 Remembering
Sharla Lee Shults