Two Blocks Off Main, Where the Kettle Never Really Cools

The 1962 Pour

Eleanor Whitmore learned sugar work from her mother in Dubuque and poured her first commercial batch — nine pounds of maple leaves — at the 1962 Jo Daviess County Fair. Frank sold tickets by day and weighed every leaf on a seed scale by night. By 1968 the line at their fairground stall ran past the pie tent, and by 1988 the Main Street storefront had its copper kettle set into the floor like a hearth.

Today their granddaughter Maya Whitmore Brennan runs the kettle program: the same molds, the same ledger, the same stubborn refusal to scale past eighty pounds a pour.

Visiting the Kettle Bench

What to Ask for at the Counter

• “What poured this morning?” — the bench will tell you which batch tag is freshest.
• “Which tin travels best to Phoenix in August?” — they will match packing to your weather.
• “What did the fair judges love this year?” — the blue-ribbon board always has opinions.

For Gift Buyers Planning Ahead

Holiday sweet assortments and keepsake gift tins are packed in batches each December; tasting boxes for anniversaries and retirements pack year-round. Bring the occasion, the recipient, and any dietary notes — the bench handles the rest, ribbon included.

Write to the Kettle

Questions, fair invitations, stories of your own 1960s candy-counter summers — all are welcome at copperkettleconfections@gmail.com. We read every one on slow Tuesday afternoons.