Published: May 26, 2009 03:31 pm      

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Chocolate has made its mark in Tennessee

Chocolate lovers have been in the United States for a long time. Proof of that was found in Chaco Canyon, NM which dates back to 1,000 years. Finding this evidence was the first to verify the sweet stuff was in use north of Mexico.

Chocolate made its mark in Tennessee at the turn of the century. In 1901 the Standard Candy Company was founded by Howell Campbell in Nashville. A variety of candies were made there but in 1912 Howell became the first confectioner to combine a number of ingredients into one candy bar. He used milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel and marshmallow and the Goo Goo Cluster was born and flourished.

There are several versions of why it became known by that name. One is that it is the sound a happy baby makes and the other is that it was a popular item sold at the Grand Ole Opry.

In 1902 The Chattanooga Bakery began business headed by owner Sam Campbell, Jr. and his wife Harriet. If there was a family relationship between Howell and Sam there is no mention in any of the histories. Today the third generation Sam Campbell IV is the chief executive of the company.

Moon Pies made their appearance in 1917. The story of their creation began with finding something new that would attract customers. Salesmen were asked to question their clients as they traveled around and one found the answer from a group of Kentucky coal miners. He asked what they would like in their lunch box for a snack and one answered, “Something as big as the moon.” The salesman had noticed graham crackers with a marshmallow placed in the sun to melt and with that beginning Moon Pies became a Tennessee tradition.

Two long producing Tennessee companies well known by anyone with a sweet tooth brought a question to mind. Is one creation more popular than the other?

At the time these two new sweets were building a fan base there was a movement growing to improve roads into the south which in turn would draw tourists. An Indiana land speculator, Carl G. Fisher, was well acquainted with the hardship of traveling to Florida where he spent his winters. He also knew about road building and had been involved in several such ventures. By 1914 there were preliminary plans being discussed.

In 1915 the governor of Indiana and Tennessee Gov. Tom Rye called a meeting to be held in Chattanooga. Governors from Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and Florida joined the two governors from Tennessee and Indiana and over 5000 interested citizens in the meeting. The Dixie Highway Association came into being and a Chattanooga judge was named president with headquarters in Chattanooga. In the earliest stages such a highway was referred to as the Cotton Belt Route but Dixie was the final choice “to honor fifty years of peace between the North and South.”

This first 5,706 mile north-south route from Canada to Miami was under construction from 1915 to 1927. Private funds from state governments, individuals and businesses were used until in 1927 the Dixie Highway became part of the U.S. highway system.

Tennessee fared well as the route was split into a western portion going through Nashville and an eastern section passing through Knoxville and Chattanooga. As envisioned this improvement drew tourists and many of those visitors must have discovered Goo Goo Clusters and Moon Pies and raved about them when they returned home. This word of mouth advertising ensured their future was secure.