Back in 1902 John L. and Jacob S. Loose, along with John H. Wiles, formed the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company. Early Kansas City directories list them as Cracker & Candy Mfgrs., Takoma Biscuit, Crackers, Candy, etc., 8th, Santa Fe and Henning Streets, K.C. Mo. This old promotional post card was mailed with a 1-cent green stamp by T. Ellers, a candy salesman for the company, to his customers, Carl & Hunter at Gas, Kan. The card announced the date when a call would be made to obtain an order. The card pictures 12 workmen with long white aprons and rolled up sleeves ready for work in the peanut candy department. Great copper kettles with gas burners for cooking the sugar are at the right side of the picture and slabs at the left hold fresh batches of the finished product. Large buckets in the aisle hold shelled peanuts. The card was one of 30 different views photographed inside the factory. One of the principal products of Loose-Wiles was a cracker, marketed under the trade name of Sunshine Biscuits. Sunshine became a well known name, and in 1947, 45 years after the establishment of the company, Loose-Wiles officials decided on a change of name because Sunshine was better known than the name, Loose-Wiles. The change was made and today the Sunshine Biscuit Company operates in Kansas City, Kansas, in the Fairfax district at 801 Sunshine Road. All candy making was discontinued by the company in 1968. Kansas City Times, December 15, 1973.
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