It all started when Ethel Myers discovered how to make fudge in her home economics class in high school. From the beginning, Ethel was enthusiastic about making candy and loved to experiment with new ideas. Years later, while working for a large department store, she made candy every night to take to her co-workers as snacks.

        After her marriage to Jonathan Rutledge, a pharmacist, and the start of her family, these same co-workers encouraged her to contiune making chocolates and bring them to the store's candy department so they could buy them. This helped Ethel's young family make ends meet and before long, word about Ethel's delicious chocolates had spread. It was only a matter of time before she was supplying department stores and downtown businesses. Soon after this, she gave up her position at the department store and devoted herself full time to her candy business.