The Whitman’s Sampler

We got a head start on Mother’s Day when my sons invited my wife and me over for dinner on Saturday to beat the rush. They had planned it all by outsourcing dinner to a new takeout service that turned out to be almost as good as Mom’s cooking herself. And my son, William, even made one of his famous rum cakes for dessert.

After dinner, all the adults sat around with a slice of that rum cake and fresh coffee while the kids tried to wear out their trampoline.

But what got my attention, and the subject of this column, is when they presented my wife with a Whitman’s Sampler box of assorted chocolates. All of a sudden, I remembered my dad giving those to my mom over 70 years ago, and I began to wonder about the history of the Whitman’s Sampler because, after all, the box hasn’t changed in 70 years, at least, not that I can remember. Also, I had some vague recollection that it was a Philadelphia company. Was the company related in some way to Walt Whitman, the poet?

After doing some research, here’s what I found. Walt Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon. Often called “The father of free verse.” He was a big fan of Abraham Lincoln and at Lincoln’s death, wrote, ” Oh Captain! My Captain.” As a kid, I knew him mostly for the fact that they named the Walt Whitman Bridge, which crosses the Delaware River near his home in Camden, in May of 1957 where grew up. I was a young teenager at the time.

But in doing more researcb, it looks like the only connection the chocolate sampler has to Walt Whitman is his signature on the box; at least the signature on the box sure does resemble his; coincidence?!

Whitman’s was actually the brainchild of Stephen F. Whitman, a Quaker who opened a confectionary store in Philadelphia in 1842. Sensing demand by sailors for candies that stood up to the expensive European treats they were accustomed to, Whitman introduced a line of gourmet chocolates. Through changes in leadership—to his son, Horace, and eventually to President Walter Sharp in the early 1900s—Whitman’s soon arrived on “The Sampler,” which was packaged using a design inspired by a cross-stitching sampler that hung in Sharp’s house. (In needlework, samplers are made to show off a stitcher’s skills.) It was a very clever play on words: Stitching sampler vs. assorted chocolate sampler.

Another thing that caught my eye is the image of a Blue Bird in the upper left hand corner of the box. I wonder if the Luces ever noticed that? The Luce family founded the Blue Bird Body Company, (because as Mrs. Luce used to say, it wouldn’t do to have a Luce, sounds like “Loose” Body Works!)

And talk about a successful giveaway program how’s this one: “From 1942 to 1945, the factory workers of the Whitman candy empire in Philadelphia helped ship well over six million pounds of free chocolate to soldiers stationed overseas. Tucked inside their Whitman’s Sampler boxes—a rectangular package of assorted chocolate treats—were handwritten notes of support from the women working the factory’s conveyor belts.

To get a stash of candy was one thing, but to know someone back home was wishing you well was another. When the soldiers returned home and caught sight of the familiar cross-stitched packaging, a sale was almost guaranteed.”

If you know of a widow who may have been forgotten over Mother’s Day, why not take her a Whitman’s Sampler? You might even think about including a handwritten note of your own.

Thanks for reading All About Seniors … see you next week!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at https://www.facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA/.

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