Grandpa, Burney Chester Wilkie, learned the art of making all kinds of candies in Chicago candy factories when he was a young man. He passed the know-how on to his children and, four generations later, Wilkie family members are still gathering to make candy canes for their own enjoyment. During the height of the candy business (from the late 1950s through the 1980s), approximately 6,000 pounds of
candy were made between October 15th and December 15th each year. Over the years, thousands of people came to watch “candy in the making” – as many as four groups each night; this included Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, church groups, and sororities. Wilkie (Scoop) and Gladys Wilkie on Oliver and Holden Avenues in Aurora. Four 34-pound batches of candy canes were made every night. Four lengths were made: 7”, 11”,16”, and 30” long canes. They also sculpted the candy into baskets and wreaths. The baskets held the other candies made by the family – peanut brittle, peanut clusters, and peanut crunch. Wilkie and Burney C. Wilkie still remember the delicious mint chocolates that they would get for Easter and Christmas. Money earned from the business went toward the upkeep of a cabin on the Mississippi River in Thomson, IL. Family members enjoy giving out peppermint and cinnamon Candy Canes each year.
