HR0786 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0786 LRB098 18195 GRL 53324 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the Heath family, the Crawford County Heritage Foundation, the Robinson Area Chamber of Commerce and the City of Robinson on the occasion of the Heath Candy Company's 100th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, The rich history of Heath Candy started in early 1914, when L.S. Heath was looking for a business for his two elder sons, Bayard and Everett (Skiv); on January 7, 1914, they opened the Heath Brothers Confectionery, where they sold fountain drinks, ice cream, and homemade candies; and

WHEREAS, Bayard and Skiv continued to expand their confectionary business by introducing new items, which proved to be very popular with their customers; after acquiring a popular "Trail-Toffee" recipe from a Greek candy maker in Champaign, Bayard decided to develop it further; in 1928, after many months of trial and error, the brothers declared their formula for "English Toffee" to be "America's Finest", and dubbed it Heath English Toffee; and

WHEREAS, In 1931, the brothers began selling their new confectionary and moved to the dairy industry with their father, but continued their enterprise in a small kitchen they built; the brothers had new delivery order forms printed to include an additional selection, "Heath English Toffee Bars"; when this item was checked, the milk route driver left a box of the delicious candy along with the dairy needs; this simple marketing plan worked and the Heath English Toffee Bars grew in popularity as the market base grew; and

WHEREAS, In 1946, the company was incorporated as L.S. Heath and Sons, Inc.; included in the original corporation were L.S. Heath and his 4 sons, along with his daughters, Ruby Heath Dowling and Mary Heath Morris, and the grandchildren living at that time; and

WHEREAS, The Heath family said farewell to the company on January 24, 1989, when L.S. Heath and Sons became a subsidiary of Leaf, Inc.; headquartered in Bannockburn, Leaf's is a subsidiary company of Huhtamaki Oyj of Helsinki, Finland; in January of 1997, Leaf sold their North American operations to Hershey Chocolate, U.S.A. under the leadership of Hershey; currently, the Robinson plant manufacturers a variety of candies, including the original Heath English Toffee Bar; and

WHEREAS, The Heath Candy Company was and still is a vital part of the Robinson community; L.S. and his sons will forever serve as models of hard work, integrity, and dedication for the people in Robinson and the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Heath Family on the Heath Candy Company's 100th anniversary and recognize and thank those that continue to preserve the history of this great company; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Roger Pethtel, Mayor of Robinson, as a symbol of our esteem and respect.