Heath = Robinson

One of my favorite candy treats is the Heath Candy Bar. Following closely in second place is Hershey's Dark Chocolate. Well, honestly the list could go on forever. Did you know that Heath Candy Bar started out in Robinson, Illinois? Me neither. Don't ask me how I stumbled on this website because I honestly don't remember. Here's a brief article about Heath taken from Robinson Area Chamber of Commerce's website:

Early in 1914 L. S. Heath was looking for a business for his two elder sons, Bayard and Everett (Skiv). There was an existing business on the west side of the square in his community of Robinson Illinois, which was for sale. He managed to purchase the small confectionery for $3,000 by mortgaging the family home. The heath Brothers Confectionery opened its doors for business on January 7th of that year.The confectionery was the local meeting place, and did quite well. The Heath Brothers sold fountain drinks, ice cream and homemade candies. Primarily a retail operation, there was ice cream-making equipment in the basement and candy-making equipment in the back room.

As L. S. Heath proudly watched and observed the success of his sons in the business enterprise, he began to contemplate leaving his chosen profession of education. He had been a school teacher for some 20 years, but he had always dreamed of a family business.

So, the following year, in 1915, L. S. gave up his teaching career, borrowed all the money he could, and built a small ice cream factory on South Jackson Street in Robinson. This enterprise was intended to not only supply the confectionery, but to establish a wholesale business as well. Built at a cost of $1,600, the building was put to use on April 9th, along with the Ford Coupe L. S. purchased and had re-modeled into a truck of sorts for making home deliveries from the retail store.