Dear editor:

We want to thanks those concerned citizens of Niles who cared enough to dispute the inaccurate information contained in the article about Veni’s Sweet Shop, published in the Niles Daily Star on Jan. 11, 2010.

Our family, the Pattersons, pointed out that the historical error of the headlined “century of candy” to both the current owners of Veni’s and the newspaper’s managing editor. We provided material from the Local History Room of the Niles District Library to verify the history. Since that time we have complied additional information that substantiates that Veni’s did not begin their candy store in 1910.

The Marazita family, who began and owned Veni’s until 2008, has confirmed that Veni’s held their grand opening in December 1939. It was our family’s candy store, The Paris Candy, that was started in 1910 by James T. Patterson.

We believe it is the responsibility of the journalist and editor to more carefully verify their information before they put it in print, particularly in regard to the history of our community. We wish the current owners no ill will. However, as a matter of fairness and accuracy, we request they correct the 1910 claim on their Web site and in any future advertisements.

The Patterson Family