In the 1920s, Bob
McCormack began making candy canes as special Christmas treats for his
children, friends and local shopkeepers in Albany, Georgia. It was a
laborious process - pulling, twisting, cutting and bending the candy by
hand. It could only be done on a local scale.
In the 1950s, Bob's
brother-in-law, Gregory Keller, a Catholic priest, invented a machine to
automate candy cane production. Packaging innovations by the younger
McCormacks made it possible to transport the delicate canes on a large
scale.
Although modern
technology has made candy canes accessible and plentiful, they've not lost
their purity and simplicity as a traditional holiday food.