Suzanne Wainwright-Evans’ clear toy candy and cookie sale at the historic Schneck Log Cabin in Schnecksville offers a sweet view of the past for visitors to the annual event.

Wainwright-Evans makes the candy using classic molds.

Originally from Florida, Wainwright-Evans now lives in Slatington.

She wasn’t familiar with making this type of candy until she moved to Pennsylvania.

“I saw someone make it many years ago when I first moved to Pennsylvania and I just became obsessed with it,” Wainwright-Evans said, at the Dec. 10 sale. “Since then, I’ve been researching the history, collecting the molds and I use a historic recipe. That’s how I do it.”

Clear toy candy has been around for quite some time.

Wainwright-Evans recently purchased a candy receipt from 1877, showing a piece of the clear candy cost 25 cents.

She has been making clear toy candy for about 14 years, and has had the candy sale for the past 12 years at the Schneck House.

“Many years ago I drove by when they were having an event here, so I stopped in,” she said. “I think it’s important to be involved in the local community and volunteer, so I asked if I could start helping and volunteer at the house.”

Wainwright-Evans enjoys talking to visitors at the sale about the candy’s history.

“What I like is to keep the history alive because clear toy candy originated in Philadelphia and there are only a few [people] who are still making it the way they use to in the late 1800s and early 1900s,” she said. “I’m trying to educate people on how the candy was made and basically the history of it.”

Wainwright-Evans said the candy offers a sense of nostalgia for many people.

“A lot of people who have come in today are picking it up for their mom or their grandparents, because in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s this is what kids would get for Christmas as part of their gifts,” she explained. “It’s a very nostalgic thing for people, so I’m happy I can [help] people remember their youth.”