Memories From The Museum For 06-15-2016
June 13th, 2016 by
I’ve had some interesting conversations the past couple of weeks about “rolling stores” and all of the favorite treats found therein – many of which survive today. I thought you might be interested in some lists of “how far back” some of our favorite treats existed.
From The 1900s t0 the 1920s Baby Ruth, BB Bat Suckers, Beeman’s Gum, Bit-O-Honey, Butterfinger, Candy Cigarettes, Candy Corn, Caramel Creams, Charms, Charleston Chews, Cherry Mash, Chiclets, Clark bars, Cracker Jacks, Goo Goo Clusters, Heath bars, Dubble Bubble gum, Goobers, Lifesavers, Milk Duds, Milky Way, Mounds, Moon Pies, Mr. Goodbar, O. Henry, Reese Cups, Tootsie Rolls, PEZ, Zero, Hershey’s chocolate bars and many others. Whew! I’d imagine we thought in the ‘20s they only had candy canes and licorice like in the old westerns!
In the1930s the candy markets really grew with additions like 3 Musketeers, 5th Avenue, Boston Baked Beans, Kit Kat, Chunky, Pay Day, Mallo Cup, Red Hots, Snickers (and Kit Kats?), Sugar Babies, Sugar Daddies, Valomilk, Wax Lips, Clove Gum, Nestle Crunch, Nik-l-Nips, Tootsie Roll Pops, Whoppers, Raisinets and Zagnut. (I’m having sugar withdrawals!)
The 1940s brought Almond Joy, Bazooka Gum, El Bubble Cigars, Jolly Ranchers, Junior Mints, M&M – plain, Smarties, Twists, Teaberry Gum and York Peppermint Patty, among others.
With the 1950s came 100 Grand, Big Hunk, Atomic Fireballs, Candy Necklaces, Dum Dum suckers, Cigarette Bubble gum, Coconut Planks, Hot Tamales, Marshmallow Peeps, Mentos, M&M peanuts, Root Beer Barrels, Saf-T-Pops, and Pixy Stix.
Then came the 1960s and Banana Splits, Lemonheads, Cinnamon Toothpicks, Rolos, Now and Later, Starbursts, SweeTarts, and Twizzlers came along. It’s enough to send more candidates to dental school!
The “thing” is I believe I’ve eaten 90% of these! Most still exist in specialty shops or online! By the 1960s the rolling stores had faded from the American landscape. Kids now got their candy fills at the movies or the local 5&10 stores. That never seemed as much fun as running barefoot up the side of the levee in the hot summer sun, clutching that nickel!!
I received an interesting letter this week from former Monticellonian Dan Coston of Fayetteville. He has fond memories of a “peddler’s truck”, or rolling store, coming by the old Haney place occasionally when his family was visiting his grandparents. (His mom was the much-loved, late Aileen Coston.) He remembers his grandmother, Mrs. Mable Haney, going out to see what she needed from the truck.
Dan remembers a red and dark green oversized truck with a step on the back. The truck bed was an 8 x 10 rectangle much like what we called panel trucks. He remembers lots of “stuff” within its walls. It would park under a large cedar between the house and the gravel road when visiting.
If anyone has a picture of one of these “rolling store” trucks, please let me borrow it to copy. I’d like a copy for the museum files. Just leave it by the Advance. Thank you!
