February 14th - Clubhouse—4:00 Happy Hour, 4:30 Food, 6:00 Beeline Highway Band - Sign up sheet in clubhouse There will be 50-50 drawing Chocolate Fountain and Champagne (both regular and non alcohol) Bring Finger Foods to Share Residents Free—Guests are $5.00 each






Here is a blast from the past, from 2012

We can’t think of February without remembering Valentine’s Day and ---- CHOCOLATE! Did you know that for most of its long history, chocolate was not something people ate? It was a beverage -- rarely hot and seldom sweet. Some historians trace it back to 1500 BC, but others feel that the Mayans from Central America were the first to see the value of the cacao bean for making a beverage and used the bean for currency. Its use was restricted to the social elite at that time and many of the tombs of the Mayan nobility contained pottery vessels showing the process of preparing the chocolate as a drink -- a bitter, brown brew! (Recipe: roast and grind beans, mix with water, add spices preferably chilies, stir until frothy, and enjoy! For wimps, sweeten with a little honey.) In the 14th century, the Aztecs gained control of Central Mexico and also enjoyed cacao as a currency and a beverage. They mixed the ground bean with chilies, vanilla, allspice and honey. Then later Columbus on his 4 th visit to the Americas captured a native trading canoe and found among its cargo some brown “almonds” which appeared to function as money, but it is believed that Columbus never tasted the chocolate. A good turkey hen of the time was worth 100 cocoa beans. Chocolate first gained popularity in Europe when the Spanish royal physician began to use it for medicinal purposes, as a fever reducer. Then by the mid 17th century chocolate became popular in Britain as a beverage for the wealthy. The poor had their coffee and tea. In 1828 a Dutch chemist invented a machine which was able to make chocolate powder from chocolate liquor also removing some of the cocoa butter. By the mid 18th century the first chocolate bar was made by mixing the cocoa powder, sugar, and some cocoa butter and forming it into a mold. Other milestones in this chocolate history show where the candy we still enjoy today had its beginnings. 1868-- Cadbury marketed the first box of chocolate candies packed in a Victorian style box. 1849 -- Domingo Ghirardelli emigrated from Italy to California to make a fortune in the gold rush era, sold tents to the gold miners, made some money, and used it to start his chocolate business. 1879 -- Milk chocolate candy was blended by Daniel Peter, a Swiss chocolate manufacturer, and Henri Nestle who was working at that time on a sweetened milk for infants. 1893 -- Milton Hershey began marketing the milk chocolate Hershey bar and in 1905 he introduced the Hershey’s kiss. 1926-- Joseph Draps, a Belgian chocolate maker began marketing a high-end expensive chocolate he named Godiva. And…the final bit of trivia -- at Milton Hershey’s suggestion, the American military in WWII decided to include 3 four ounce chocolate bars in a soldier’s “D-Ration.” While it was meant to sustain the men, it soon became associated with the return of peace when soldiers began sharing their rations with malnourished victims of the war. Chocolate is still a standard issue in the military. So, whether you drink it or eat it, enjoy chocolate in some form this month now that you’ve read its cherished history!