Thursday morning I boarded the Link Transit bus headed for the Leavenworth Library. I got sidetracked and found myself in Cashmere at Aplets and Cotlets, a candy store and factory. The library would have to wait.

This business was founded by an Armenian and an Englishman about eighty years ago. The first candy, aplets, was made of apples and walnuts. A few years later, the production of cotlets, apricots and walnuts, was begun. Other varieties of candies have been added throughout the years.

Approximately 80,000 visitors per year stop by for a tour of the factory.

The first room we visited contained vats of candy being cooked. The vats are then moved to a table and the candy is poured into molds.

In the main area of this factory, the candy is scored into pieces and packed into boxes. Weight is carefully checked as part of quality control. Have a look at all the people involved in this process. Slightly different from the drama of Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory on I Love Lucy.

This brief tour was most informative. And several yummy samples were scattered on shelves throughout the store. Now, if they only made chocolate………………