The Bogdon’s Story

The year was 1945...

Elizabeth Taylor was winning hearts in National Velvet. The Egg and I topped the best seller list. And deep in the heart of America, in Kansas City, a new idea in candy was taking shape.

Faced with the challenge of creating a unique candy for a customer's wedding, candymaker, Walter Bogdon, suddenly had a brainstorm—why not combine the luxurious taste of chocolate with the wonderful flavors of hard candy?

First, he rolled the pearly strands of warm hard candy into thin sticks. Then, holding each piece by the end, Walter dipped the sticks almost full length into a tempting pool of bittersweet chocolate.

With that brilliantly simple recipe, the Reception Stick was born. In a short time, Walter's requests for Reception Sticks grew from supplying local weddings to sending shipments all over the world.

Today, Bogdon Candy Company remains a family-owned business, with over three generations of Bogdon's involved in making fine confections in the same delicious way as Walter did over 50 years ago - over an open fire, in only 100-pound batches at a time. Old World confectionery talent and contemporary technology. For Bogdon's, it's proven to be a combination as successful as bittersweet chocolate and flavored hard candy. Truly, the Reception Stick is a sweet success story, one we're happy and proud to share with you, our valued customer.

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