A ‘Chuckles Day’ open house at the Vermilion County Museum Sunday seemed more like a family reunion. Hundreds of people – many of them former employees at the Fred W. Amends Company – were on hand for the event. The former Danville plant is where Chuckles candy was produced.
Characters portraying Fred Amends and his wife Tulita told the story of how the plant started and survived over the years. The crowd was told that in the early days radio played a big part of the company’s success because of commercials on the Fibber McGee and Molly show, and Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd chartoons.
Another reason for the jellied candy’s success is almost every other candy company in the U.S. was using chocolate.
Chuckles were packed in the rations for U. S. troops fighting overseas in World War II, as well as Vietnam. The crowd was told that one serviceman in Vietnam opened a pack of Chuckles and smelled them. When another soldier asked what he was doing, the reply was: “I’m smelling home.”
Chuckles are still manufactured – but not in Danville. They are made in the Chicago area.
