As my wife Teresa was preparing for the annual visit by trick-or-treaters, she asked me what my favorite candy was when I was a kid. I had just read an article in Moss & Fogg about the history of Snickers which touted it as the world’s most popular candy bar. While I liked Snickers, other candies ranked much higher on my “treat-o-meter.” These included M&Ms, Rasinetes (especially at movies), and Three Musketeers.
There was one candy that was always my first choice. It was a unique silver-wrapped, piece of chocolate that was designed to be thicker and more substantial than other candy bars of the time. It was made with milk chocolate, raisins, cashews, and Brazil nuts. It was a Chunky.
My dad, brother, and I would stop at our local newspaper shop in Farmingdale, NY every Sunday after church to get the Sunday paper and a gallon of milk. Every once in a while, he would let my brother and I spend our allowance to get a candy bar. My choice was always a Chunky.
Here are some fun facts about the Chunky.
- The Chunky candy bar was introduced in the late 1930s by New York City candy maker Philip Silvershein.
- In the 1950s, a Chunky candy bar could be purchased for five cents.
- In 1964, a Chunky Square pavilion was featured at the New York World’s Fair. The pavilion featured a glass-walled automated factory where visitors could watch the manufacturing of Chunky candy bars. I remember going to this.
- The recipe was changed to milk chocolate, raisins, and peanuts in 1984 when Nestlé acquired the brand.
- The Chunky candy bar was advertised as being “thicker” than other candy bars, and the slogan “THICKER-ER” was used in commercials throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Here are a couple of commercials. Both are from the fifties and feature Arnold Stang. There was a whole series of these made. Many are on YouTube. One featured Arnold Schwarzenegger. They are pretty funny.
OK, now I am hungry. May have to head over to CVS and get a Chunky. That is “wicked cool.”