Tootsie Rolls: Wartime Snack
I was emptying the remaining candy from our Halloween bowl a few days ago, intending to fill the community bowl at work with it. At the bottom of the bowl, there were quite a few Tootsie Rolls left over – more than any other candy. Perhaps the kids just don’t care for Tootsie Rolls.
In fact, I made a sour face myself. I don’t fancy them either. To me, they are too sweet, hard to chew, and just…. boring. Lord knows, I have eaten so many of them in my life. Often, during my service, I opened Meals-Ready-To Eat, or MREs, and found Tootsie Rolls as part of the contents.
Despite my dislike, I never threw them away. As a Marine, I know their value.
Although the candy may not seem exciting, its wartime history is anything but boring. During World War II, the company that produced the “Tootsie Roll” was one of the few candy companies to thrive during the war. They were a recipient of an early form of what we call “government contracting” today.