The "Hupper's Confectionery In Lancaster: The Best Candy Store In Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about a candy company that I had never heard of before.  Place known as Hupper's Candies that was located in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Lancaster is known for many things which includes being the capital of the United States for one day, being home to the 15th President of the United States (James Buchanan) and giving chocolatier Milton Hershey his start when he opened his first candy company in Lancaster known as the Lancaster Caramel Company.  Albert Hupper founded Hupper's Confectionery in 1902 when he opened a combined  store and factory at 42 East King Street which he operated for ten years.

Hupper's Candy & Ice Cream Store after moving to 20 E. Orange Street.

During that time, Albert and his wife Mary served dishes of ice cream for five cents a dip which included a dish of crackers.  For 20 cents you could have a "Hot Fudge Sundae made with Hupper's rich home made hot fudge sauce drooling over a cold, white mountain of creamy, vanilla ice cream."  At the time there was no refrigeration so salt and ice were used to set the ice cream.  Hupper's also delivered ice cream to individual homes, perhaps by horse.  At the time it was a luxury to have ice cream.  The ice cream was made in a metal can that sat in a wooden tub.  Ice was packed around it and delivered that way.  Later, someone would return to gather the tubs and cans.  Hupper's featured a variety of flavors which included chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, burnt almond, apricot, peach and pineapple.   According to the Lancaster Historical Society, the East King Street property was originally a dry goods store known as the "Sign of General Washington" which sold silks, cottons, stockings, ribbons, sold gloves, silk handkerchiefs, spangled shawls and plain shawls.  The three-story building was where the products were made.  Mr. Hupper then sold his business to begin anew on a larger scale.  During the next three years, he spent time constructing his new business at 20 East Orange Street.  He opened his new store in 1915 as well as his factory at 217 East Madison Street.  This information was found in the archives of Lancaster Newspapers, specifically the March 25, 1926 issue of the Intelligencer Journal.  Through several stories I found that by 1926 Mr. Hupper painstakingly and carefully laid out the foundation of his flourishing business.  

Hupper's Confectionery prices on March 18, 1926.

As of 1926 thousands of customers thought of Hupper's whenever they thought of candy and ice cream.  His modern and sanitary factory was two-stories and a basement with 35 feet frontage and 100 feet deep.  It is here that the best ingredients, originating in the four corners of the earth, were turned into fine candies by exclusive formulae and processes according to the most up-to-date manufacturing methods.  All these features were shown to the general public through a motion picture shown at the nearby Grand Theatre.  A 1979 newspaper article said that the quality of the candy was excellent.  They featured chocolate and vanilla butter creams, peanut butter balls, coconut squares, cherries, caramels, nougats ad bonbons which were hand-coated on marble slabs in a coating room that was insulated with cork and temperature controlled.  The candy counter at 20 East Orange Street was on one side of the room that had tall, ornate glass containers which held Jordon almonds and other mouth-watering goodies.  The front show window was decorated each week with fresh candy in decorative containers.  On the other side of the room was the soda fountain that dispensed banana splits and rich, creamy, ice cream sodas.  In 1927 Hupper's was the first store in Lancaster to offer grilled sandwiches.   Valentine's Day was a big day at Hupper's Candy Store.  Red was certainly the predominate color in the front window of the store.  They featured candies that were sold in red boxes during the week before Valentine's Day.  One thing you could be sure of was that Hupper's candy was always fresh and the variety unsurpassed in Lancaster.  Albert Hupper died in 1941, but family members kept the business going.  Then along came WWII and sugar rationing led to the sale of the business at 20 East Orange St.  But, along with the sale of the business was the Hupper name.  It was written that Mr. Hopper wouldn't have approved of that move, especially after viewing the inferior product that the new owner supplied.  I recently needed a box of candy for my wife for Valentine's Day and being that Hupper's is no longer open, I stopped at my favorite, Miesse's Candy, at 118 North Water Street in downtown Lancaster.  They have taken over the title as best Candy Store in Lancaster, at least in my eyes and mouth.  Their Salted light chocolate caramels are unbelievable.  I gave my sweetheart a box yesterday for Valentine's Day.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.