Sweet Times, Past to Present

We love our sweets – during the holidays, New Year’s Eve, on Valentines Day, and throughout the rest of the year for that matter.

In Washington County, candy making has always had a prominent role as a popular business, and one of the best known candy makers was J.A. Goggin based in Stillwater.

The Goggin Candy Company grew from the considerable experience Jay A. Goggin gained in the confection business. Goggin first worked as a salesman for the Charlsen Candy Company on South Main Street in the early 1920s. By 1927, he was a partner with Nick Starkel in the Starkel-Goggin Candy Company. In the January 4, 1935 issue of the Stillwater News it was reported that Goggin had purchased Starkel's portion of the company and renamed it the J.A. Goggin Candy Company.

Confectioner Goggin’s staff ranged from 22 to nearly 50 at various times. During World War II, candy production had to be scaled back due to the scarcity of sugar.

By 1947, the Goggin Candy Company was expanding candy production. There was an “attractive new front” installed on the building at 330 South Main Street. Glass brick was also added and the entire front of the building was given a facelift. New signage proclaimed the name Goggin Candy Company in raised black letters against a white background across the storefront.

Goggin’s created many different types of chocolates, but J.A. had a weakness for the butter creams. These candies were made with fresh creamery butter. “Our’s is the only butter cream that will stand up indefinitely, that will not get rancid,” said Goggin. “The secret of this was discovered by the father of our candy maker, George Burnquist, who for half a century was engaged in the business. He handed down the secret to George who uses it in making our butter creams,” Goggin explained. The secret remains a mystery to this day.

The “girls” who worked in the Goggin factory wore neat uniforms, and a hand rolling machine was added that cut 185 pieces of candy per minute. This reminds me of the classic I Love Lucy episode about Lucy and Ethel working at the candy factory. When the candy-laden conveyor belt speeds up Lucy and Ethel start eating many of the pieces they cannot not package in time. It’s a funny episode that offers a glimpse of how those old production lines operated. No word on whether the Goggin’s employees were allowed to sample the product while on the job.

In the mid-1960s, Goggins Candy Company was sold to Ted Casper, who later expanded his business into the old South Hill Hooley’s store (1977). With a second location, the stores were producing 1,500 pounds of sweets a day, 98 percent of which was shipped out to satisfy chocoholics elsewhere in Washington County and beyond.

In 1987, the Casper’s candy company merged with another enterprise named Truffles. However, competition took a toll. After battling the larger candy companies for several years, the Goggins Candy Company finally closed its door in February 1989.

Although Stillwater was without a sweet chocolate candy store for several years, Tremblay's Sweet Shop moved into Stillwater, giving citizens and visitors the opportunity to watch sweets being produced just like in the old days of Goggins Candy.

Tremblay's was established in 1963 by Denis and Marlene Tremblay, first in Hayward, Wisconsin and later in Stillwater.

And, throughout our history, from the old confectioners of another era to today’s candy makers, every delectable morsel is made from scratch.

So remember your sweetheart on New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day or any day during the year with sweets made in Washington County, a more than century old tradition still alive today.

Brent Peterson is executive director of the Washington County Historical Society. For more information, please visit www.wchsmn.org.