Gertrude Hawk Chocolates is a

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civi ...

company based in Dunmore, Pennsylvania. The company was started by Gertrude Jones Hawk in 1936. Hawk began her career at the age of 12 after the death of her father. She took a job in a

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English, New Zealand English), is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, i ...

shop and later began making chocolates in the kitchen of her home in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Va ...

. Following World War II, her son Elmer Hawk invested his service pay in the fledgling business enabling the family to purchase mechanical chocolate making equipment. The family also used their products in fundraising sales through area churches and schools. In 1959, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation took Gertrude's home for an

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Islan ...

bridge. The family bought a piece of land in Dunmore, Pennsylvania and built a factory there that opened in 1962. In addition to the factory, the building housed a full-service restaurant and a retail area. The restaurant was converted into a candy shop in 1973. In 1988, the company constructed the Gertrude Hawk Corporate Center. The company is now a $90 million annual business with four divisions. It employs over 1,000 people and operates 75 Gertrude Hawk Chocolates Chocolate Shops throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

.''The History of Gertrude Hawk Chocolates''
/ref> Gertrude Hawk manufactures

Frango Frango mints are a brand of chocolate truffles first created for the Frederick & Nelson department stores. Traditionally flavored with mint and widely popularized by the Marshall Field and Company department store, they were later produced and ...

s, and inclusions for several companies such as

Ben and Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream p ...

and Turkey Hill Dairy. In February 2008, the company produced a limited edition ice cream flavor with Turkey Hill called Gertrude Hawk Box of Chocolates which featured three different Gertrude Hawk produced chocolates in milk chocolate flavored ice cream. The company also supplies chocolates and

confections Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...

, The Hershey Company, Nestle and

Fannie May Fannie May Confection Brands, Inc. is an American chocolate manufacturer headquartered in Chicago and currently owned by Italian company Ferrero SpA. Fannie May manufactures a broad variety of products including enrobed, barks, caramels, squares, ...

Elmer Hawk died on October 18, 2013, at 89 years old after coming down with an illness.Elmer Hawk Dies
/ref> He was the CEO of the company from 1979 until 1992, when his son David took over from him. In 2018, Gertrude Hawk, the company's founder, was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Corporate website
Chocolate companies based in Pennsylvania Food and drink companies established in 1936 1936 establishments in Pennsylvania {{Food-company-stub