The Curtiss Candy Company was founded in 1916 by Otto Schnering near Chicago, Illinois. Wanting a more "American sounding" name (as German surnames

Family name

A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...

 were not an asset during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

), Schnering named his company using his mother's maiden name.

Their first confectionery

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 item was Kandy Kake, later refashioned in 1921 as the log-shaped Baby Ruth

Baby Ruth

Baby Ruth is an American candy bar made of peanuts, caramel and chocolate-flavored nougat covered in chocolate.In 1921, the Curtiss Candy Company refashioned its Kandy Kake into the Baby Ruth. The bar was a staple of the Chicago-based company for some seven decades. Curtiss was purchased by Nabisco...

. Their second confectionery

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 item was the chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

-covered peanut butter

Peanut butter

Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...

 crunch Butterfinger

Butterfinger

Butterfinger is a candy bar made by Nestlé.The bar consists of a flaky, orange-colored center—somewhat similar texture to crisp caramel, with a taste similar to peanut butter—that is coated in compound chocolate.- History :...

. In 1931 Curtiss marketed the brand by sponsoring famous air racer John H. Livingston

John H. Livingston

John H. Livingston was an American aviator and air race pilot of the 1920s and 1930s. Livingston placed first in 80 national air races- Early life :...

, in the Baby Ruth Aerobatic Team flying the air-racer Howard "Mike"

Howard DGA-4

-External links:*...

 at airshows, and sponsoring Livingston's Monocoupe racer in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race

MacRobertson Air Race

The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race took place October, 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The idea of the race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and a prize fund of $75,000 was put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, on the...

.

In 1964, Standard Brands

Standard Brands

Standard Brands was formed in 1929 by J.P. Morgan with the merger of:*Fleischmann Company*Royal Baking Powder Company*E. W. Gillett*Widlar Food Products Company*Chase & Sanborn Coffee Company...

 purchased Curtiss Candy Company. Standard Brands merged with Nabisco

Nabisco

Nabisco is an American brand of cookies and snacks. Headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey, the company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Kraft Foods. Nabisco's plant in Chicago, a production facility at 7300 S...

 in 1981. In 1990, RJR Nabisco

RJR Nabisco

RJR Nabisco, Inc., was an American conglomerate formed in 1985 by the merger of Nabisco Brands and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. RJR Nabisco was purchased in 1988 by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co...

 sold the Curtiss brands to Nestlé

Nestlé

Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

.

The Baby Ruth / Butterfinger factory, built in the 1960s, is located at 3401 Mt. Prospect Rd. in Franklin Park, Illinois

Franklin Park, Illinois

Franklin Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,800 at the 2004 census.-Geography:Franklin Park is located at ....

. Interstate 294

Interstate 294

Interstate 294 is a tolled Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois, U.S.A.. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at Interstates 80 and 94, and Illinois Route 394 to Northbrook at I-94. Interstate 294 is long; are shared with I-80....

 curves eastward around the plant, where there is a prominent, rotating sign, resembling a gigantic candy bar. It originally read "Curtiss Baby Ruth" on one side and "Curtis Butterfinger" on the other. It was changed to read "Nestlé" following the acquisition.

There was a "Curtiss Baby Ruth" sign on an apartment building across from Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...

for several decades. Wrigley and the Curtiss plant are both on Addison Street, although more than 10 miles apart.