Candy

Chalky, gritty, funny-shaped candies of old are Susan Benjamin's windows into history. And history never tasted so sweet. "Put this in your mouth and close your eyes," said Benjamin, an author, former journalist and, more recently, a candy researcher. "Now imagine you're very cold and you're fighting in the Civil War. You're in a ditch somewhere. This is what you may have been eating when you felt bad or needed some energy. That's the real flavor. " "How often do you get that?"

Candy buy back An area orthodontist is encouraging his patients to "put his money where your mouth is. " Trick-or-treaters can bring their excess candy to Dr. Gordon S. Groisser of Village Orthodontics in Gaithersburg and Hagerstown, and receive $1 per pound in exchange. Dr. Groisser began his efforts in 2005 and since that time has collected more than a ton of candy. Village Orthodontics is at 18638 Crestwood Drive, Lower Level, Hagerstown. Candy can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1. For more information, contact Patricia at 301-869-4242 or Patricia@drgbraces.com .

Hickory Elementary School recently participated in a candy drive. Students collected 413 bags of candy to be sent overseas to U.S. troops. Karen Cox's third-grade class won first place with 96 bags of candy. Class members included Kaitlyn Hoover, Isabella Wegman, Mariah Naugle, Emilee Shoop, Jordan Rohrer, Diamante Caldwell, Karina Canela, Kaiden Echeverry, Haley Bui, Eric Wang, Will Quebedeaux, Hayleigh Burgey, Spencer Lane, Tea Talor, Athena Pike and Mary Frances Troast.

Two-year-old Fenris Bennett seemed just as happy ripping up grass at Shafer Park as he did later chomping down on a Tootsie Roll from his pink basket of candy. Nichola Maynard filled about a quarter of her white plastic grocery bag with candy, but no plastic eggs. “I'm good at finding candy, but I'm not very good at finding the eggs. I've only found an egg once,” said Nichola, 9, of Boonsboro. Nichola, who was wearing white furry rabbit ears at Boonsboro's Shafer Park, didn't find any plastic eggs Sunday either.

Nearly 30 years ago, Marilyn Hembrock and her husband moved to the Smithsburg area. Her husband pastored a church and Hembrock taught school in Montgomery County, Md. But earlier, the couple spent time in Europe with the United States military. "He was an Army chaplain," Marilyn Hembrock said. "We were stationed in Germany 40 years ago. That's when I got interested in gingerbread houses and German pastries. Also, they had a lot of interesting chocolate candies. " Making food comes easy to Hembrock.

SHARPSBURG -- There was scarcely a single patch of shade along Sharpsburg's Main Street Saturday afternoon that wasn't covered in lawn chairs, strollers or blankets as hundreds of people from throughout the Tri-State area braved the heat to witness one of the oldest Memorial Day parades in the United States. In its 142nd year, the Sharpsburg Memorial Day parade lasted about an hour and a half and featured school and community bands, fire and rescue vehicles, military units, Civil War re-enactors, dancers, majorettes, Scout groups, youth sports teams, pageant winners and more.

Candy the chihuahua leads Donald Rhodes for a walk through McConnellsburg, Pa., Thursday afternoon.

Izaiha Wright, 1, of Hagerstown had his very first candy apple Monday night at the Hagerstown Carnival on South Potomac Street across from Bester Elementary School. Festivities continue through Saturday.

Hannah Rowe, right, and Zachary Wolford, fifth-graders in Bobbi Blubaugh's class, open their Valentine's Day candy bags Thursday afternoon at Fairview Elementary School in Waynesboro, Pa.

What are peeps made of? The colorful, cute Easter candy birds are made of sugar, corn syrup and gelatin. According to the Associated Press, two researchers tried to dissolve the spongy critters in water but it didn't work. Gary Falcon and Jim Zimring, a medical student, found the only liquid the peeps dissolved in was phenol, a chemical used for dissolving proteins. They also found the candy froze in liquid nitrogen and shriveled in a vacuum.

Nearly 30 years ago, Marilyn Hembrock and her husband moved to the Smithsburg area. Her husband pastored a church and Hembrock taught school in Montgomery County, Md. But earlier, the couple spent time in Europe with the United States military. "He was an Army chaplain," Marilyn Hembrock said. "We were stationed in Germany 40 years ago. That's when I got interested in gingerbread houses and German pastries. Also, they had a lot of interesting chocolate candies. " Making food comes easy to Hembrock.

A Zoe's Chocolate Co. truffle recently took the family business' owners on a sweet trip across the country to accept an award for using local and natural ingredients. Zoe's Chocolate Co., which has stores in Waynesboro and Frederick, Md., won the Good Food Award for confections Jan. 18 in San Francisco. The Good Food Awards were created through a collaboration of food producers, farmers, food journalists and independent grocers organized by Seedling Projects, according to the contest's website.

This recipe is the most often requested and sought after family favorite and a standard at all family holiday gatherings either at home or with the in-laws.  It's delightfully easy to prepare and can be calorie adjusted by replacing sugar with Truvia, as desired. My immediate family prefers the recipe without the nuts in the topping, while my mother incorporates nuts in hers. As for my sister, Katie, who is terrific in the kitchen, she always says that you need to double the topping recipe for every batch of the filling made.  To this day, I follow that advice and thus the phrase, "Candy Bar in Bowl" was created.

It was a beautiful November day for both the Greencastle and Waynesboro Christmas Parades on Saturday. Scarves, mittens and warm coats were the dress of choice for the 27th annual Christmas parade, sponsored by VerStandig Broadcasting, in downtown Greencastle on Saturday at 9:21 a.m. Thousands lined the Greencastle parade route from E. Baltimore Street onto the square and down S. Carlisle Street to watch bands, floats and costumed characters spread...

From cute kids in costume to unique floats, the annual Greencastle Halloween Parade cast a spell over young and old alike on Friday night. Even before the first drum beat from the Greencastle-Antrim high school and middle school marching bands, eager parade-goers claimed their spots along the parade route to get the best vantage point. The parade, sponsored by the Greencastle Exchange Club, started at the Jerome R. King Playground, followed South Carlisle Street to the square and turned east onto Baltimore Street.

Candy buy back An area orthodontist is encouraging his patients to "put his money where your mouth is. " Trick-or-treaters can bring their excess candy to Dr. Gordon S. Groisser of Village Orthodontics in Gaithersburg and Hagerstown, and receive $1 per pound in exchange. Dr. Groisser began his efforts in 2005 and since that time has collected more than a ton of candy. Village Orthodontics is at 18638 Crestwood Drive, Lower Level, Hagerstown. Candy can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1. For more information, contact Patricia at 301-869-4242 or Patricia@drgbraces.com .

The top five things to do this week Say it's alright 'If this is it' then let us know when Huey Lewis and The News comes to Shippensburg, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m. H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center, Shippensburg University, 1871 Old Main Drive, Shippensburg, Pa. Tickets cost $55 to $75. Call 717-477-7469 or go to www.luhrscenter.com . Candy, candy, candy Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good...

For those watching the scale, Halloween can be the beginning of a downward spiral if you aren't careful. A house full of candy, too many costume parties and beginning to slack in your training can lead to the beginning of the end of your chances of finishing 2012 in your best shape. Here a three tips to make sure you avoid that often slippery slope. 1. Use total body workouts: Total body training saves time and burns more calories than traditional "body part" training. Three total body workouts per week builds a strong metabolism, and allows more variation in the workout that alleviates boredom.

Candy apple fundraiser to benefit WHS choral dept. The Williamsport High School Choral Department will hold a fundraiser for selling candy apples beginning Monday, Oct. 1, and running through Oct. 14. Apple selections include red candy and red candy with nuts, caramel and caramel with nuts, caramel with toffee bits, caramel dipped in chocolate and dribbled in white and milk chocolate, and pumpkin apple spice. To order, call Wendy Loveless at 240-527-9256 or send an email to wlbaskets@myactv.net.

Summer officially begins this week. Have safe summer vacations. Relay for Life The American Cancer Society will hold its Relay for Life Friday at the Washington County  Agricultural Education Center on Sharpsburg Pike. The event begins at 7 p.m. Friday and ends at 7 a.m. Saturday, June 23. During that time, participants will walk as teams to raise money for cancer research. A luminaria ceremony will be held at 9 p.m. to celebrate the lives of cancer patients.