Most long-time residents of Washington state one time or another have driven over to Eastern Washington, specifically the Wenatchee area, and been intrigued by the Aplets & Cotlets candy factory in the small town of Cashmere.
Most long-time residents of Washington state one time or another have driven over to Eastern Washington, specifically the Wenatchee area, and been intrigued by the Aplets & Cotlets candy factory in the small town of Cashmere.
The factory churns out tasty powdered sugar-coated cubes of nuts and apples and apricot gelatin. A big sign on the highway lures tourists in. The candies have been produced by Liberty Orchards since 1920.
Today Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee, is proposing to make Aplets & Cotlets the official state candy. Armstrong said with the tough state Legislative session set to start in a couple of weeks, and with the politicians tasked with putting together a budget that has a $5.7 billion deficit, perhaps a more lighthearted issue would be welcome.
Aplets & Cotlets will most likely be pitted against Almond Roca for the honor of state candy. Back in 2001 backers of Almond Roca, which has been made in Tacoma since 1912 by Brown & Haley, tried to get their candy listed for the state. That effort did not pass.
We have another proposal — Chehalis Mints — and this would represent the entire state.
Back in 1994 Mike and Sue Schofield started their own business producing homemade mint candies. This is truly a statewide candy. The mint is grown in the rich agricultural region of Eastern Washington. The leaves are then shipped to the mint oil factory of I.P. Callison and Sons in Chehalis, which turns the leaves into oil. The Schofields merge the mint oil with gourmet chocolate, then hand pour and hand wrap their refreshing treats. They are then placed in wood boxes made from Pacific Northwest pine, and sent out across the land.
Before naysayers claim Chehalis Mints doesnt have the long history of Aplets & Cotlets or Almond Roca, they need to consider the history of the I.P. Callison and Sons Chehalis factory.
Back about 1900, I.P. Callison arrived in Chehalis to serve as a school teacher. He then turned to publishing a weekly newspaper, but found the financial viability of the enterprise lacking. Then came the break. A stranger in 1903 asked Callison if he could supply two loads of cascara bark, used as a laxative for a drug manufacturer. The cascara tree was rare outside of the Pacific Northwest, and abundant around Chehalis. The business took off. Soon Callison added other products such as foxglove leaf.
By the 1940s the business was booming and they added peppermint oil to their offerings, then expanded into spearmint. Today I.P. Callison and Sons is one of the worlds leading suppliers of mint oils and related products.
Seems like we have ourselves a state candy right here in Chehalis.
