Chuckles Day in Danville will be celebrated with an open house at the Vermilion County Museum Sunday from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. This is a free event for the public.
Stop by and see the new Chuckles exhibit, it contains items from the Museum collection as well as articles donated for viewing by the public. There will be a short program at 2:30 and refreshments will be served.
Fred Amend, the man who created Chuckles, and his wife Tulita will be on hand to visit with guests. They will be portrayed by talented living history presenters Nancy Henderson and Bob Hous. They are veterans of Danville’s outstanding local theater organizations, Red Mask Players and Danville Light Opera.
There will be a place for former employees of Chuckles to sign and record their memories. There will also be a place for visitors to record their memories of the iconic candy that was made in Danville for more than 70 years. A game for children to participate in will also be part of the days festivities.
The little Chuckles candy bars were a bright spot during World War II. Noted journalist, reporter, and NBC radio newsman John St John (1902-2003) reported on Sept 14, 1944. “And here’s a letter from a war Mother in Danville, Illinois, there they (USO) meet 10 trains a day. In the past year and a half nearly two hundred THOUSAND service-men have enjoyed the hospitality of the Danville women. Besides Hundreds of thousands of sandwiches, they’ve consumed 15 hundred pounds of coffee and 85,000 boxes of candy (Chuckles).” Fred Amend made sure boxes of Chuckles candy bars were always in reserve for the USO volunteers to hand out to people in uniform.
A number of people have mentioned Chuckles was their favorite Danville industry. In the archives at the Museum there is an obituary from a woman and it was noted she retired from the “memorable Chuckles Candy Factory.” Amend’s company was “memorable.”
It has been 95 years since he turned out his first batch of candy in Danville. It’s time to celebrate the little bar that became known around the world. Chuckles.