Clara Stover

Clara Stover
Born	Clara Mae Lewis 1882 Oxford, Iowa
Died	1975 (aged 93) Kansas City, Missouri
Nationality	American
Occupation	candy maker, company owner
Years active	1910s-1975
Known for	Creating Russell Stover Candies, with husband and co-founder, Russell Stover

Clara Mae Stover (1882-1975) was the wife and co-founder of candy maker, Russell Stover, who created Russell Stover Candies and solely ran the company, following his death.

Clara Mae Stover was born in Oxford, Iowa, in 1882. Clara Mae was raised on a farm, with her three sisters, who were required to do to the work of men since, their parents had no sons. through the strong influence of her grandma, Clara Stover was a very independent woman, who took the initiative to be self-reliant and knowing how to get things done. Clara and Russell Stover met, as students in Iowa City, Iowa, at the Iowa City Academy. Over the years, they kept in touch and got married in 1911. The Stovers decided to buy a 580-acre, wheat and flax farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Unfortunately, heavy rains destroyed their crops.

Russell Stover was hired by a candy company, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Years later, the Stovers decided to move back to the United States, where Russell worked for confectioners, in Des Moines, Iowa and Chicago, Illinois, during the 1910s. Throughout the process, Russell Stover became very familiar with the candy-making process. Everything, from the production to the sale, of chocolates. This began Clara and Russell's dream of a chocolate empire, that still thrives today. Clara Russell would actually dip the chocolates, herself, in their apartment kitchen. Russell Stover, would in turn, sell them to neighborhood druggists, on the weekends.

In 1921, Russell Stover, studying chemistry, at the University of Iowa and business partner, Iowa schoolteacher, Christian Nelson patented a process, by which ice cream could be coated, with chocolate, without melting. At a dinner party, Clara suggested calling it an "Eskimo Pie", which became a national sensation. Russell was soon offered licensing agreements, and buyout offers, some millions of dollars. He was also, in lawsuits, suing imitators, hiring many lawyers. Instead, of taking the buyout offers, Stover waited too long and sales plummeted, leaving sales at only, a several thousand dollars.

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