Iowa City’s Candy Couple – Russell & Clara Stover.

Did you know that one of the most famous candy-making companies in America had its beginnings right here in Johnson County?

Yup – Russell Stover Candies is the brainchild of a fourth-generation Iowa Citian – Russell Stover (1888-1954), and his talented wife – Clara Mae Lewis Stover (1882-1975), from near-by Oxford. The two first met while attending Iowa City Academy (see pic below) after the turn-of-the-century, marrying on June 17, 1911.

**The Iowa City Academy** was housed in a large three-story brick building at the northeast corner of Clinton and Jefferson streets, just across from University Square. Over the years, the Academy educated some of Iowa City’s finest, and in 1916/1917, evolved into **University High School of Iowa City**. Read more here.

(BH-164) The Stover family story is just like their fancy chocolates – so rich and thick, it would take several posts to scratch the surface. So, suffice to say that here, we will gather our Russell Stover story using three informative newspaper articles that appeared in The Iowa City Press-Citizen (below): July 5, 1952 – front page story (left), June 28, 1975 – Johanna Nelson Beers article (center), and May 7, 1993 – Irving Weber article (right)…

So, to get started, let’s go all the way back to…

Joseph Stover (1783-1875) and his wife – Esther Yount Stover (1785-1870) were married in 1811 and, like many early Johnson County settlers, came from Elkhart County, Indiana in 1838. Arriving with their children on May 6, 1838, the Stovers joined with fifteen other pioneers – camping in a circle located about 3/4 of a mile northeast of today’s River Junction. Sickness soon hit the camp (ague), resulting in some of the women and children (including Esther) returning to Indiana, but apparently, Joseph and his older children settled here on farmland located in Pleasant Valley Township. Esther returned in 1842 and family records show that there were eight Stover children – Elizabeth (1812-1888), Rachel (1813-1858), Sarah (1815-1899), Mary P. (1818-1915), Jeremiah (1919-1894), Ruth (1821-1905), Jacob Y. (1823-1916), and John (1830-1858).

On **August 17, 1838**, Joseph & Esther Stover’s daughter – **Mary P. Stover** (above left) – was married to **Benjamin Ritter** (above right) in the Stover home – **the first wedding held in the newly-formed Johnson County**! Read here about more Johnson County “firsts”.

This photograph from 1908 (above) pictures some of the surviving pioneers who arrived in Johnson County in 1838. Included are **Jacob Y. Stover** and **Mary (Stover) Ritter** – children of **Joseph & Esther Stover**.

Joseph & Esther’s oldest son – Jeremiah Stover (1819-1894) bought 40 acres of land near River Junction and became a teacher in one of the first schools built in Johnson County (see map & details below)…

According to family records, Jeremiah was also one of the many Iowa pioneers who headed westward when gold was discovered in California (1849). Unlike so many others who failed to strike it rich, Stover returned to Iowa City five years later (1854) with $2,500 in gold nuggets in his pocket!

Jeremiah’s oldest son, John R. Stover (1858-1927) decided to move to Kansas Territory after he married Emma S. Sterett (1884), but that decision didn’t prove to be successful, so the family came back to Iowa City around 1890. During their time in Kansas, the main subject of our post – Russell Stover – was born on May 6, 1888, and with the family’s return to Iowa City, Russell became a fourth generation Iowa Citian.

As we mentioned earlier, Russell Stover and his wife-to-be, Clara Mae Lewis, first met when they were students at Iowa City Academy. Above are two photos of Clara and her family as she grew up on a farm near Oxford, Iowa. Below, allow columnist Johanna Nelson Beers to tell this part of the Stover story…

*Russell & Clara Stover and their daughter Gloria.*

After a rough go in Canada (1911-1915), the Stovers, living in Chicago, returned to Iowa – this time, landing in Des Moines with Russell working as superintendent of the Irwin Candy Company (1918-1920). As the company was failing, the couple moved to Omaha – which led to a life-changing encounter…

On July 31, 1921, Christian K. Nelson of Onawa, Iowa, met with Stover, pitching the concept of mass-producing a chocolate-covered ice cream treat he called the I-Scream Bar. Seven companies had previously rejected Nelson’s idea because the confection easily melted away. But Stover, who had studied chemistry at SUI in Iowa City, saw the promise of the idea, especially since he knew how to devise a formula for the chocolate shell that would harden on exposure to cold. With a handshake, the two men entered into a partnership. Stover renamed their creation – Eskimo Pie, patented the confection on January 24, 1922, and history was made. Iowa City historian, Irving Weber tells us more…

In 1923, Russell Stover sold his share of Eskimo Pie and moved to Denver, Colorado, where he and Clara started a new company, Mrs. Stover’s Bungalow Candies, which operated out of Clara’s kitchen in their bungalow, making boxed chocolates. Once again, Johanna Nelson Beers tells us more…

In 1925, the couple opened a candy factory in Denver and another one in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1931, the company moved its headquarters to Kansas City.

During the 1940s, the name of the company was officially changed to Russell Stover Candies.

On **July 5, 1952**, The Iowa City Press-Citizen published a front-page article featuring Iowa City’s Russell & Clara Mae Stover. They had just completed their fifth consecutive July 4th visit with family and friends in Iowa City. Below, is the full article…

*Below, in that same July 5, 1952 edition of The Iowa City Press-Citizen, this interesting side-story on Russell Stover appeared on page 5…*

Obviously, over the years, Russell & Clara Stover made a fortune with their little candy business. Yet, apparently, these down-to-earth Iowans never forgot their roots back home. Iowa City historian – Irving Weber – tells us more about the on-going generosity of the Stovers…

When Russell Stover died on May 11, 1954, five days after his 66th birthday, the company that bore his name was producing 11 million pounds of candy annually and selling its products through 40 Russell Stover shops, and in about 2,000 department stores nationwide. Now, let’s go back to Johanna Nelson Beers article to conclude our Stover story…

Clara successfully operated the Russell Stover company until 1960, when it was sold to Louis Ward for $7.5 million. Clara Mae Lewis Stover passed away on January 9, 1975 at age 92, and is buried alongside Russell at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri. Godspeed, Mr. & Mrs. Stover – Godspeed!

On a personal side, one of my fond memories growing up in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. On very special occasions – like Christmas or birthdays – my dad just might bring home an expensive box of Russell Stover chocolates. Every family member, of course, had their favorites, and when dad opened the box, the rule was – take only one! I loved the caramel or cream-filled light chocolate pieces, but was horrified if I accidentally bit into the dreaded coconut-filled chocolate! They say, real Russell Stover addicts could tell the contents of a piece by looking at the markings on the top, but I was never able to crack the code! mb