Sweetest Day
A Cleveland Tradition

The first Sweetest Day took place right here in Cleveland, Ohio in 1922.

A man by the name of Herbert Birch Kingston wanted a way to bring something happy, cheerful and special into the lives of society's forgotten especially orphans and shut-ins. He himself was an employee of a candy company so the leap to providing candy to these special people was not a far one.

He designated the 3rd Saturday in October and with the help of friends he began distributing candy to those less privileged than he.

Silent-movie star Ann Pennington donated over two thousand boxes of candy to the Cleveland Newspaper boys as a thank you for their community work.

Theda Bara was performing in Cleveland at the time. She gave candy to everyone who attended her performances as well as donating ten thousand boxes of candy to people in Cleveland hospitals.

The entire country does not celebrate Sweetest Day, but it is spreading a little at a time as people move around more and more. Mainly it is celebrated in the Northeast with Ohio being the No. 1 celebrator.

However, as far as gift sales for the day, Texas, California and Florida (hardly northeast states!) are among the top.

To learn more about Sweetest Day traditions right here in Cleveland read our profile of Adelle and Bill Malley and see how Bill Malley is trying to keep the true meaning of Sweetest Day alive.