The best the worst of Halloween candy, all the way back to the 1930s

Author of the article:Monica Zurowski • Calgary Herald Publishing date:Oct 31, 2020 •  

Postmedia archives photo. Calgary Herald

One of the best parts of collecting Halloween candy — aside from eating it — is the assessment, sorting and analysis of the merits of the Oct. 31 haul. Kids can spend hours deciding which candy should be eaten and what in order; which treats should be traded to siblings; and which unwanted candy can be tossed to parents.

So, what are the best Halloween candies to get? According to candystore.com and its annual ranking of Halloween candies, the No. 1 treat in the United States — in terms of volume of purchases — is Skittles. That’s followed by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Starburst, M&Ms, Hot Tamales, candy corn, Snickers, Sour Patch Kids, Hershey Kisses and Jolly Ranchers. However, in Canada, those boxes of Nestle mini chocolate bars rank high. People know they can’t go wrong with Kit Kats, Coffee Crisp, Aero bars and Smarties. A survey in one Canadian city last year (Ottawa) showed Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were chosen as a favourite Halloween treat by 23 per cent of poll respondents, followed by Coffee Crisp at 18 per cent and Kit Kat at 16 per cent.

While most people enjoy a good chocolate bar, many of the faves from days past are now long gone, perhaps even extinct. Mainstays of the 1960s and 1970s like Kraft Caramels and Rockets are rarely seen. Little boxes of Chiclets, Dubble Bubble gum and Mojos don’t make appearances. Also largely gone — thankfully — are those handfuls of hard-to-bite, hard-to-define candies wrapped in orange-and-black Halloween-themed wrappers.

And, let’s not forget about the ubiquitous sucker. They were plentiful and popular for decades. The following Calgary Herald ads for Halloween candy over the decades provide a quick look back at what Calgarians were handing out on Oct. 31 in years past.

1930: This ad from the fall of 1930 showed the specials at the City Hall Market, including candy. Toasted marshmallows were on sale for 19 cents a pound, sugar peanuts were 25 cents a pound, mixed chocolates cost 30 cents a pound and jelly beans went for 25 cents a pound.





An Oct. 24 ad from the same year, 1930, showed the Hudson’s Bay Company advertising Halloween candy at a similar price: Black and orange jelly beans for 25 cents a pound, Halloween Kisses or creamy fudge for 29 cents a pound, and for 39 cents a pound you could “satin candies,” with assorted cream fillings in coral pink, nile green, canary and white.



1940: This Oct. 23, 1940 ad for a store called Naglers, located at 606-608 2nd St. East, showed jelly beans were still a popular treat and selling for 10 cents less a pound than they had a decade earlier — now 15 cents. Halloween kisses were still on offer, too, but Halloween suckers were newly making an appearance — a box of 100 sold for 43 cents.



Eaton’s, on Oct. 24, 1940, was also advertising a variety of Halloween goods: paper costumes for 29 cents, masks for 5 to 15 cents and party hats for 25 cents. Its featured Halloween candy was the caramel sucker — you could get 50 for 38 cents. The treat was expected to be so popular that the store limited sucker purchases to 100 per customer.



1950: Jenkins’ Groceteria Ltd. advertised a number of Halloween treats in its Oct. 26, 1950 ad. A 10-ounce bag of roasted peanuts sold for 25 cents and a bag of Halloween suckers was going for 25 cents, while a box of apples sold for $1.79.



1960: Halloween suckers continued to be the treat to beat; they’re featured in several ads of October 1960 editions of the Calgary Herald, including this Zeller’s ad on Oct. 26. A box of 72 suckers was on sale for 47 cents.