How Sweet It Was!

Childhood memories fueled by sweet treats you rarely see today

By Michele Bazan Reed  |  bazanreed@hotmail.com

 

One day I ran into a neighbor about my age, who greeted me with a big smile, saying, “My friend brought me a special treat. Let me share it with you.”

He reached into his pocket and poured an overflowing handful of root beer barrels and butterscotch drops into my outstretched hands.

Suddenly I was reflecting his happy grin. I hadn’t seen those in years. No, decades!

Soon, the instantly familiar taste and aroma of a root beer barrel were filling my mouth and nose, sending waves of nostalgia for tastes gone by.

“Wherever did you get these?” I asked, and he replied that his friend had gone to a Mennonite store in Seneca Falls, returning with the treasured sweets and another blast from the past: whoopie pies. He handed over two soft circles of chocolate cake filled to bursting with marshmallow fluff.

That brief encounter and my new stash of vintage sweets got me reminiscing about the flavors of my childhood. Excited, I called and texted family and friends and though we all had different favorites, we shared one thing: childhood memories fueled by sweet treats you rarely see today.

Some favorites were pure sugar, like candy buttons, little multicolored dots of crunchy candy stuck to a strip of paper. They came on a roll and the shopkeeper ripped off the amount you wanted. I bit them off and so always got as much paper in my mouth as candy. Another variety came as a necklace of candy beads strung on elastic, so you could look good and snack while you were at it.

Then there were the Pixy Stix, paper straws of colored and fruit-flavored sweet and sour powder. You ripped or bit off the end and tipped the straw into your mouth for a rush of pure sugary delight.

I thought this next one was banned but was surprised to learn they still make candy cigarettes. They’ve been around since the late 1800s. Most were white sticks of a chalky, sugary base with a red tip, in boxes made to look like cigarette packs of different brands. Some were packed with a powdery sugar coating in the paper liner, so if you blew, they would simulate smoke. The candy cigarettes also include bubblegum and chocolate versions. They were briefly banned in 2009, but came back minus the red tip.

Pastel-colored bubblegum cigars wrapped in cellophane with the familiar band around them were popular back in the ’50s as well as now. And chocolate cigars still come wrapped in gold foil.

Circus peanuts were invented in the 19th century, too and the orange-colored banana-flavored marshmallow candy was popular among circus goers and at penny candy counters.

Remember spearmint leaves and orange slices? Those juicy, chewy gelatin-based candies coated with crystallized sugar were popular as an after-dinner treat. My mother loved the spearmint ones and just the smell of them reminds me of her.

One of my favorites growing up was the three-color Neapolitan coconut slice. In fact after finding out the pink, white and brown bars flavored strawberry, vanilla and chocolate, still existed as I was researching this column, I wasted no time and ordered a few slices.

They also came in a pink and green watermelon slice flavored with summer’s favorite fruit.

I grew up in Amsterdam, near Albany, and Life Savers candy was made by BeechNut in nearby Canajoharie. My mother worked for a plumbing wholesaler and when the buyer from BeechNut came in, he always brought a lot of little sample packs of gum and Life Savers, my mom’s favorite. I loved to visit her office and rummage through the bottom drawer of her desk, to find my favorite flavors — butter rum and cryst-o-mint.

And do you remember the best stocking stuffer ever? The Life Savers Sweet Storybook? The original version of the Christmas classic featured 12 rolls of the candy in all its iconic flavors: pep-o-mint, spear-o-mint, butterscotch, orange, lemon, wild cherry, wint-o-green, clove, stik-o-pep, butter rum, cryst-o-mint and five flavor, along with a story and holiday-themed craft ideas or games. Over the years the size shrunk to 10 rolls, then eight, then six. The current version features just five rolls, all in the five flavor variety. It’s the subject of an internet petition to bring the original back.

Hard, chewy sweets that must have given dentists nightmares — or at least a lot of extra business — include Sugar Daddy lollipops, oblong blocks of hard caramel on a stick and Sugar Babies, small pea-sized versions of the confection, both sold in iconic yellow and red packaging. Sugar Daddy’s name, dating from 1932, was meant to connote “a wealth of sweetness.”

A real filling-puller was Jujubes candy, tiny hard, gummy candies in flavors like violet, lilac, lime, wild cherry and lemon. It was discontinued in 2012 and folks are circulating an online petition to bring back those as well.

My research for this story surprised me. I expected to write a column lamenting all the late, great candies of our childhood. But as I delved deeper into it, looking up the correct names and history of half-forgotten treats, I discovered that you can get almost anything if you look hard enough.

That’s good news if your sweet tooth has been teased by this story.

And more good news — there are so many nostalgic sweet treats out there that this column barely whets the appetite.

In the next issue, we’ll explore some bulk candy favorites, regional treats and chocolate confections.

Did I miss any of your favorite flavors? Have a special memory about a yummy candy? Send me an email at the address above. I love to hear from readers and your favorite confections may end up in print.

Until then, keep enjoying the sweet life.