By
Emily Lentz
Issue
2
It is more than a century old and is known by people all over Kentuckiana. Nestled in the historic district of Jeffersonville, Ind., Schimpff’s Confectionery has held a piece of our history since 1858.
Carried on through four generations
of the Schimpff family, it has become a sweet surrender of homemade chocolate
and hard candies.
Gustav Schimpff Sr., was the first
to establish Schimpff’s in Louisville, Ky., and by 1891, Gustav Sr., and his
son, Gustav Schimpff Jr., decided to come to Jeffersonville, Ind., bringing
their candy along with them.
With the constant success of the
family-owned business, it has just celebrated its 112th birthday.
Since 1990, Warren Schimpff, grandson of Gustav Jr., and his wife, Jill, have
been the owners of this hidden treasure.
“We are a living museum,” Jill said.
When the couple first took over the
business, they were living in Claremont, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles.
Working for the local water company, Warren would travel back to Jeffersonville
occasionally to make candy and oversee the business. Back in Claremont, Jill
was teaching English at Pitzer College as a second language.
Only thinking to own Schimpff’s for a year, they found themselves
going way beyond.
“We said we would try it for a year
and now here we are 12 years later,” Jill said.
Jill and Warren have now resided
back in Jeffersonville, living right above the historic business, which also
has been lived in from past generations.
“You don’t hear of that often
anymore,” Warren replied, “in fact, Business First in Louisville did an article
on people who live about their place of business and we were in the article.”
Television stations, such as PBS in
Indianapolis and local news channels have visited Schimpff’s to share a piece
of history with the public.
“ The best thing about this place,
is that we still are using old recipes since 1858 and the old chocolate dipping
tools, but most of all we are using a stove that is more than 80 years old and
a cooling table that is 112 years old,” Jill explained.
Suffering three major floods, the
store still remains as it was when it first opened. As you walk in, you feel
you are living in the past. Candy fills the store in giant mayonnaise jars from
the 1930’s, along with collectibles from antique candy stores. An old-fashioned
soda fountain sits to your right and is still used today, serving children and
adults a variety of fountain drinks. One that is most popular now, is the
“Harry Potter,” made of orange sherbert, lime juice and soda.
In the back, is a small deli,
carrying traditional foods with a light touch.
“We try to keep our foods traditional,” Jill
explains, “but our food is homemade and they are the type people remember from
the past like your pimento and benedictine cheese sandwiches, with a variety of
soups, and will even still bake our own hams and pies.”
Next door is the latest addition, just two years
old, of a candy museum.
“Back when we lived in California, we would collect
American candy memorabilia,” Warren explains.
“So now after 25 years of collecting, we have things
from all over the country.”
To the left, sits an old-fashioned candy machine
that still works to this day. Glass taking up most of the room, you will find
everything from old Barbie dolls to candy dispensers and signs. A large truck
sits in a case carrying an original sign of Butterfinger, the candy bar.
Toward the front of the museum is a place where
demonstrations are given, showing how they make candy.
“We give demonstrations to anyone who is
interested,” Jill said.
Not only do they show how the candy is made there;
it is the actual spot where the candy is made.
“That is what makes Schimpff’s different from you
average candy store, because our candy is made right here,” Jill explains, “but
we also carry a variety of candy from other manufacturers.”
Being in business for more than 100 years, every
customer has their own favorite piece of candy.
“We have many popular candies, but our most famous
one is our red hots,” Warren said.
“Another one is, of course, our chocolate turtles
and our Modjeska, which has an interesting story behind it,” he added.
The Modjeska was named after a well-known Polish
actress of the 1800’s, Helena Modjeska. She made a national premiere in
Louisville in 1883 after filming a movie.
“She was the Madonna of the late 1800’s,” Jill
mentioned.
The Modjeska is a confectionery marshmallow dipped
in caramel.
As you can see, Schimpff’s offers so much history to
our area.
“It’s been a good anchor for downtown
Jeffersonville,” Jill added, “and so many memories are created here, which
means a lot.”
So what really is the best thing about this hidden
treasure?
“Comfort and family,” Jill said, “because, just look
around.”
As the saying goes, “everyone has a story,” and this
one is sure to carry on for generations to come.