1893: Good and Plenty Day

In honor of the oldest candy in America, today has been dubbed Good and Plenty Day. The history of the little strips of black licorice coated with a pink and white candy shell is partly unknown. It was first introduced in 1893 by Philadelphia’s Quaker City Confectionery Company but is now owned by the Hershey Foods. Beginning in 1950, the candy was promoted with the cartoon character, Choo-Choo Charlie, a railroad engineer. One unappetizing fact is that the pink ones are colored with a red dye that is produced from the crushed bodies of the female cochineal insect.

It was on this day in 1969 that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid appeared on movie screen. Directed by George Roy Hill from a script written by William Goldman, the Western movie starred Paul Newman (as Butch), Robert Redford (as Harry Longabaugh, the “Sundance Kid”) and Katherine Ross (Etta Place). The story is loosely based on the real-life pair’s string of train robberies. Originally, Jack Lemmon was offered the role of Sundance but he turned it down due to the fact that he did not enjoy riding horses and felt sort of typecast with the role. Other actors considered for the role include Steve McQueen and Warren Beatty. Marlon Brando was once considered to play his Cassidy’s sidekick and Joanna Pettet was considered for Etta’s role. Sam Elliott made his film debut in the film as a card player and Cloris Leachman also appeared in the film as well. The movie was the top grossing film of the year and was nominated for seven Academy Awards. It won four for Best Cinematography; Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical); Best Music, Song (“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”); and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced.

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