Russell Stover
| Russell Stover | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Russell William Stover United States |
| Died | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Confectioner |
| Known for | Founder, Russell Stover Candies |
| Spouse(s) | Clara Mae Lewis |
| Website | http://www.russellstover.com/ |
Russell William Stover (May 6, 1888 – May 11, 1954) was an American chemist and entrepreneur, and co-founded, with his wife, Clara, Russell Stover Candies.
Russell William Stover was born in a sod house, south of Alton, Kansas, in Osborne County, one of three children, of John and Sarah Stover. His mother died when he was young, and the family moved to Iowa City, Iowa, where he attended Iowa City Academy and the University of Iowa and studied chemistry. Stover then became a salesman in Chicago, first for a candy company, and then for a tobacco company.
In 1911, Stover married Clara Mae Lewis, whom he had met at the Iowa City Academy, and they moved to a 580-acre (2.3 km2) farm in Saskatchewan, Canada, which they received as a wedding gift. On the farm, they raised wheat and flax, but after a year, they considered the venture to have been a failure, and in 1912, they moved to Winnipeg.
Stover then re-entered the candy industry. He first went to work for a Minnesota candy company and then for the A. G. Morris Candy Company in Chicago. In 1918, the couple moved to Des Moines, where Stover worked for the Irwin Candy Company, and then they moved to Omaha, Nebraska.
On July 31, 1921, Christian Nelson of Onawa, Iowa, pitched the concept of mass-producing a chocolate-covered ice cream treat called the I-Scream Bar to Russell Stover. Seven companies had previously rejected the idea because the confection easily melted away.
Stover went into partnership with Nelson, and their agreement was signed on the letterhead of the Graham Ice Cream Company of Omaha. Stover renamed the I-Scream Bar to Eskimo Pie and took out the stick to make it a sandwich. Stover has also been credited, through his knowledge of chemistry, with devising the formula for the chocolate shell that hardens on exposure to cold and holds the ice cream contents within. Nelson patented the confection on January 24, 1922.
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