[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15938]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                125TH ANNIVERSARY OF ASHER'S CHOCOLATES

 Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I wish to recognize and honor 
Chester Asher Candy Co., Inc., ``Asher's Chocolates,'' as it celebrates 
the 125th anniversary of its founding in Pennsylvania.
  In 1892, Chester A. Asher founded Asher's Chocolates in the city of 
Philadelphia, near Independence Hall. A farm boy from Scotland, who had 
previously lived in Canada, Chester had a ``passion for chocolates'' 
and a ``knack for getting to the heart of a sugar craving.'' In 1899, 
he moved the company to the historical area of Germantown Avenue, 
Philadelphia. Chester worked tirelessly to perfect his candies and 
chocolates and was constantly searching for innovative ways to please 
his customers.
  Following World War II, Chester's four sons took over the business, 
and they subsequently passed the company on to their sons in their 
retirement. After their father's passing in 1968, the third generation 
of Ashers, brothers John ``Jack'' and Bob Asher, assumed leadership of 
the company. Asher's Chocolates quickly grew from the brothers 
producing each piece of candy individually with just two candy-making 
machines to building a warehouse and being regarded throughout the East 
Coast as a well-known candy company. While both of the third-generation 
brothers were vital to the company's increasing success, it was Jack 
who became lovingly referred to as, ``the Candy Man.''
  Jack was very engaged in hands-on management of the company. When he 
wasn't on the ground overseeing production, Jack served as a volunteer 
firefighter with the Wissahickon and Flourtown fire companies. Jack 
also became a prominent member of the community by serving on the 
boards of the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown and the historic 
Cliveden, where he sponsored the Battle of Germantown reenactment for 
40 years. Jack's proactive involvement and dedication to the community 
did not go unrecognized. In 1988, the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 
awarded Jack the Small Business Person of the Year award, and in 2006, 
he was inducted into the National Confectionary Sales Association's 
Candy Hall of Fame. Though it is with great sadness that Jack Asher 
passed away in September of 2017, his legacy will undoubtedly continue 
through the life of Asher's Chocolates.
  While over a century has passed since its founding, Asher's 
Chocolates still remains family owned. Currently, Jeff, a fourth-
generation Asher, serves as the CEO of Asher's Chocolates and believes 
it is his family's ``stubborn, common commitment to providing excellent 
chocolate at an affordable price'' that has allowed Asher's Chocolates 
to remain in business for so long. Today Asher's Chocolates has 
expanded its business, selling over 3.3 million pounds of candy each 
year, employing over 100 people, and supplying delicious treats on a 
national and worldwide level to Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, South 
America, and Europe.
  As Asher's Chocolates has reached global success, I am honored it 
calls Pennsylvania home. Founded by a Scottish man who emigrated from 
Canada and was devoted to operating a family-run business, Asher's 
Chocolates is rich in both diversity and tradition. While their impact 
is great and long-standing, Asher's Chocolates hasn't lost sight of 
what is important: family and ``one of life's sweetest pleasures . . . 
[is] a simple box of chocolate.'' Asher's Chocolates serves as a symbol 
of success, history, and family, and I commend the Asher family and the 
company's employees on the 125th anniversary of its founding.

                          ____________________