Do you remember the trips you took as a kid to the candy store? For city folks it might have been just a short walk to the corner candy store. For country dwellers, perhaps it was a special weekend drive. For all, it was a sweet trip made with visions of sugar plums dancing in young children’s heads.
What did you like the best? My favorites were flying saucers, Boston baked beans, candy cigarettes, and candy necklaces. And who doesn’t remember candy buttons on paper tape, watermelon slices, red wax lips, wafer ice cream cones, licorice wheels, and wax soda pop bottles? Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.
Well, there aren’t many old-fashioned candy stores around anymore, but the Internet can jog your candy memories as well as make your mouth water. Beside penny candy, surfing the Web can give you plenty of information about sweets of all sorts.
Americans today consume a little more than 25 pounds of confectionery, per person, per year. I don’t know exactly when Americans’ candy cravings began, but a great place to start a sweet Internet search is at the CandyUSA Time Line. The timeline begins in 1868 when Richard Cadbury introduced the first Valentine's Day box of chocolates. It includes a wealth of sugary information. For instance, did you know that Leo Hirshfield of New York debuted his famous Tootsie Roll candy in 1896, naming them after his daughter's nickname, "Tootsie?” Or, that the Baby Ruth candy bar first sold in 1920 was named for President Grover Cleveland's daughter - not the famous baseball player?
Other candy information abounds on the Internet. Get the history of Necco and the famous Necco wafers, learn all about M&Ms, and read about the hotly contested founding of the lolipop. Be sure to visit the interesting PEZ Museum. I also enjoyed the Name that Candy Bar page from the Science Museum of Minnesota, where you can view cross sections of candy bars to try to guess what they are.
By the way, if you are longing for some sweet item you had as a kid, you can still purchase penny candy over the Internet. Two of the most prominent places are the OldTimeCandy Web site and SweetNostalgia.com. A quick Internet search for “penny candy” will turn up many more places as well. Even if you don’t want to buy anything, just looking around these sites is sure to bring back sweet memories. If you are looking for a specific kind of candy, you can try the Candy Detective that gives a complete directory of candy manufacturers by company name, location, and type of candy.
Bubble gum cigars, fireballs, shoestrings, red hot dollars, pixy stix…..I just can’t get those sweet thoughts out of my head.
