End of a tradition: Camp Fire Inland Northwest stopping candy sales
Poppy White, director of operations for Camp Fire Inland Northwest, stacks the shelves with the last case of candy at the group’s office Thursday in Spokane Valley. They are permanently ending the long-held tradition of selling candy as a fundraiser. (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)
Camp Fire Inland Northwest sold the last of its classic mint patty candies this month, ending an 80-year tradition of fundraising for summer camp.
Making the candy the old-fashioned way on aging equipment was expensive and labor intensive. At the same time, interest in selling the candy has declined with less emphasis on after -school clubs. The Tacoma-based candymaker Brown and Haley announced last year it would end production for Camp Fire nationwide.
“Historically, it has been a large part of the Camp Fire experience,” said Poppy White, director of operations for the Inland Northwest council. “This is the end of an era, absolutely.”
Last year was the last time for kids from a local Camp Fire club to sell the candy. This year the council sold a limited amount from its headquarters in Spokane Valley, mostly for Camp Fire alumni.
White remembers selling the candy for 12 years as she grew up in Spokane.
“My mom would park the car at the end of the block, she would sit with her book, and my sister and I would walk with our little boxes of Camp Fire candy up and down the street,” White said.
It was different for her daughter. In more recent years, Camp Fire scheduled tables at storefronts and businesses, and kids signed up for time slots to sell the candy.
White said it taught children valuable lessons.
“They got to learn how to count money, how to speak with the public, how to set goals, how to earn their way to camp,” she said.
But the candy has not been a major source of fundraising for the last few years. Thanks to generous donors, Camp Fire has a robust scholarship program for kids who can’t afford to attend summer camp, Executive Director Leann Wagele said.