“Sweet, sweet, the memories you gave me.”
Remember those lyrics from the Dean Martin hit, “Memories Are Made of This”? The line could also refer to Boomer candies, and boy did we ever have some sweet treats!
Our passion for candy was so intense that dentists look back at the 1950’s and 60’s as “The Good Old Days.” It was during this period that Boomer kids ate candy like there would be no more the next day. Nobody thought anything about cavities – and this was before or at the beginning of the introduction of chlorine into the water supply. For dentists, it was “Drill, baby, drill!” Like smoking for adults, it was assumed that Boomer kids would spend every extra penny and nickel for candy, and we did.
Taking a sweet walk down memory lane, it seems there was at least one Mom & Pop grocery store on every block – old run-down stores with wooden floors and glass front candy counters, and a kind, older lady perched on a stool behind the display. After school, Boomer kids raced for these candy meccas and emptied their pockets of any spare change, converting their hard currency into candy futures. For a penny, a kid could buy an Atomic Fireball that was so hot it would take the skin completely off the inside of your mouth. It was the ultimate challenge for young Boomers to put one in and not spit it out until it was gone.
Also, for a penny, you could buy a piece of real bubble gum, like Bazooka Joe, which had little comic strips within, and Double Bubble. Three pieces of Double Bubble could produce a pink sphere the size of a volleyball – and a face full of sticky stuff if someone popped your creation.
Other penny candies in great demand were individual Mary Jane’s, black and red licorice from a jar, BB Bats, Root Beer Barrels, Wax Lips, Wax Syrup Bottles, Hershey’s Kisses, Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Roll Pops, Bit O Honey, Salt Water Taffy, Circus Peanuts, Caramel Creams, Fizzies, Jawbreakers, and the like.
And if you had a nickel or a dime, the sky was the limit.
Candy cigarettes were a nickel a pack. They were sold in packs with names similar to Camels, Lucky Strikes and Chesterfields. They even had red ends, as if they were lit.
And there was a candy bar called a Mallo Cup that was so yummy as to induce addictions in many chocoholics. Mallo Cups were a rich, milk chocolate with a creamy whipped center and a touch of coconut. In each pack was a coupon that could be redeemed by Mallo.
Cracker Jacks, introduced around the turn of the 20th century, was another treat in high demand, because each box had a toy or prize inside – like a Kid’s Meal at McDonalds. But Cracker Jacks was a high-dollar sweet, at a dime a box!
Two candies that were worth “every nickel” were Black Cow’s and Sugar Daddy’s. Black Cow’s had a chocolate covering over a hard caramel center while Sugar Daddy’s were solid caramel. Each candy had a life expectancy of at least an hour, and more than one tooth filling was lost to the chewy, long-lasting candies.
Nickel candies sold at the movie concession stand (that’s right, a nickel) included Necco Wafers, Milk Duds, Raisinettes, Good & Plenty, M & M’s, Boston Baked Beans, Sugar Babies, Nonpareils, Sno-Caps, York Mints, Teaberry Gum and Candied Fruit Slices.
Many of the candy bars made 50 years ago are still in production. The old favorites – Milky Way, Almond Joy, Zagnuts, Pay Day, Reese’s, Oh Henry, Mars, Mounds, Snickers, 5th Avenue, 3 Musketeers, Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, Hershey Bars, Kit Kat, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar,
Nestles Crunch, and Zero have stood the test of time and are still available, but they now cost way more than they did in the 50’s and 60’s.
Alas, all the Mom & Mop stores have disappeared. Too bad all those fillings now in the teeth of many Boomers won’t go away.
For us, it’s still: Drill, baby, drill.