DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   History of Gum    Since prehistoric times, people have chewed gum as evidence shows our ancestors chewed tree resin for enjoyment.  Greek cultures chewed resin from the mastic tree to freshen their breath.  The ancient Mayans chewed chicle sap from the Sapodilla tree that is the forerunner for today's modern chewing gum.    Spruce tree resin and beeswax were popular to chew by the Native Americans and the early settlers.  In 1848, John Curtis made the State of Maine Spruce Chewing Gum using the resin from the spruce tree.  The gum was sold in lots of two hunks for a penny.  Later, paraffin wax replace spruce as a base for gum. William Semple was granted the first patent for chewing gum in 1850.    In 1880, Santa Anna sent his friend, an inventor named Thomas Adams, some chicle sap from Mexico.  Adams and Santa Anna were trying to find a way to make money by using the chicle sap.  Adams tried mixing it w...

The M & M guys and gal    Sweet milk chocolate drops in a colorful, crunchy shell.  Ubiquitous and delightful, M & M's candy has been part of American life for nearly 70 years.  We all know they're the chocolate that "melts in your mouth, not in your hands", but how did M & M's become such an essential American treat?    In the 1930's, Forrest Mars, Sr. got the idea for M & M's by seeing Spanish Civil War soldiers eating chocolate pellets that had a hard shell covering the inside so the candies would not melt.    In 1941 production for M & M's began in a factory located in Newark, New Jersey.  One M stands for Forrest Mars and the other M stands for William Murrie, the president of Hershey's Chocolate.  Murrie had 20 percent interest in the production of M & M's.  When Operations were started, the chocolates were made in five colors: yellow, brown, green, red, and violet.  They were originally serv...