| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the Heath Family on the | ||||||
4 | occasion of the Heath Candy Company's 100th anniversary; and
| ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, The rich history of Heath Candy started in early | ||||||
6 | 1914 when L.S. Heath was looking for a business for his 2 elder | ||||||
7 | sons, Bayard and Everett (Skiv); The Heath Brothers | ||||||
8 | Confectionery opened on January 7, 1914, where they sold | ||||||
9 | fountain drinks, ice cream, and homemade candies; and
| ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Bayard and Skiv continued to expand their | ||||||
11 | confectionary business by introducing new items, which proved | ||||||
12 | to be very popular with their customers; they acquired a | ||||||
13 | popular "Trail-Toffee" recipe from a Greek candy-maker in | ||||||
14 | Champaign, and Bayard decided to develop it further; in 1928, | ||||||
15 | after many months of trial and error, the brothers declared | ||||||
16 | their formula for "English Toffee" to be "America's Finest", | ||||||
17 | and dubbed it Heath English Toffee; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The confectionary was sold in 1931 and the | ||||||
19 | brothers moved into the dairy industry with their father, but | ||||||
20 | they continued creating candy in a small kitchen they built; | ||||||
21 | the brothers had new delivery order forms printed to include an | ||||||
22 | additional selection-"Heath English Toffee Bars"; when this |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | item was checked, the milk route driver left a box of the | ||||||
2 | delicious candy along with the dairy needs; this simple | ||||||
3 | marketing plan worked and the Heath English Toffee Bars grew in | ||||||
4 | popularity as the market base grew; and
| ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, In 1946, the company was incorporated, officially | ||||||
6 | becoming L.S. Heath & Sons, Inc.; included in the original | ||||||
7 | corporation were L.S. Heath and his 4 sons, along with his 2 | ||||||
8 | daughters, Ruby Heath Dowling and Mary Heath Morris, as well as | ||||||
9 | the grandchildren living at that time; and
| ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, The Heath family said farewell on January 24, 1989 | ||||||
11 | when L.S. Heath & Sons became a subsidiary of Leaf, Inc.; Leaf | ||||||
12 | sold their North American operations in January of 1997 to | ||||||
13 | Hershey Chocolate, U.S.A.; under the leadership of Hershey, the | ||||||
14 | Robinson plant manufacturers a variety of candies including, of | ||||||
15 | course, the original Heath English Toffee Bar; and
| ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, The Heath Candy Company was, and still is, a vital | ||||||
17 | part of the Robinson community; L.S. and his sons will forever | ||||||
18 | serve as models of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the | ||||||
19 | people in Robinson and the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
| ||||||
20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
21 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
22 | we congratulate the Heath Family on the occasion of the Heath |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | Candy Company's 100th anniversary; and be it further
| ||||||
2 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
3 | presented to Jack Morris, the last living Heath family member | ||||||
4 | who was a full-time employee of the company serving as Chief | ||||||
5 | Executive Officer and Chairman of the Heath Candy Company from | ||||||
6 | 1983-1989, as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
|