It’s known as the iconic candy of Christmas. The classic candy cane has mainly been enjoyed as a sweet treat, but even used as holiday decorations for at least a few hundred years. One candy shop in Oswego continues to make them “the old fashioned way" in order to honor a family tradition.
Man in the Moon Candies owner Amy Lear remembers working in her grandparents Oswego candy shop more than 50 years ago.
“I remember being four years old, propped up on a stool at my grandmother’s desk, weighing jelly beans into one pound bags,” said Lear.
Amy is now the owner of her own candy store, Man in the Moon Candies. While the store is known for modern favorites like chocolate truffles and sponge candy, Amy loves making homemade candy canes.
“The candy cane is very traditional," said Lear.
She’s following in the footsteps of her grandparents, Ray and Gladys Stone, who specialized in candy making in Oswego from the 1930’s to 1970’s. She still has the old lollipop candy press they used back in the day.
“You take the softened hard candy, on a stick, put it in here, press it down, and this face leaves an impression. They called them Man in the Moon lollipops, because it's a broad smiling face. And, that’s why I named my business 'Man in the Moon Candies,'” Lear said.
While those lollipops are no longer made, making candy canes continues to be a tradition this time of year. Amy and her sisters use the skills their dad taught them when it comes to cooking, cooling and handling a hot sugar and corn starch mix.
“So, this is what my grandfather would do with a batch of about 10 times the size of this,” said Lear as she stretched out some candy.
To give the candy a white color, the sugary base needs to be stretched. She places the candy on a hook on the wall and pulls it by hand.
“So, now you understand, why I said my grandfather looked like Popeye. Because, this is a tiny, tiny batch, compared to what he would do,” she said.
Finally, after a bit of flavor and food coloring is added, the candy hits the spinner. It’s snipped and shaped to form the classic candy cane we all love.
“It’s a good feeling, when people come in and they talk about, their family traditions and how they include our candy, at Christmas and year round,” said Lear.
"We quote our grandparents all the time when we’re making candy, and we all love it,” said Amy's sister, Peg Stone.
That love is the reason this family tradition continues and gives us the candy we couldn’t do without. Lear said her father was a big reason why candy-making stayed in her family after her grandparents passed on.
Man in the Moon candies is also known for their homemade ice cream in the summer. They're located on West 1st Street in Oswego.