Candy

By: Jerry Smith
Publisher: StClairCountyAl.com

Not long ago, someone asked if I remember penny candy. Well, how about five-for-a-penny candy? I'm referring to Kits, which were little individually-wrapped squares of chewy taffy that sold in stacks of five for one cent. Penny candy was big business in the Fifties, and we all had a mouthful of bad teeth to show for it.

One US Cent was a common price for most snack candy in those days. We made difficult choices between a bewildering array of gumballs, licorice, caramels, chewing gum, bubble gum, jawbreakers, suckers, sourballs, Hershey kisses, Tootsie Rolls, and little packets of cinnamon red-hots.

Tootsie Roll Pops sold for two cents; each contained a wad of chocolate candy enclosed within a clear sucker. You could also buy a short version of Baby Ruth for two cents, similar to today's Halloween treats.

A kid with a whole nickel in his pocket could buy one highly mal-nutritious candy bar, or enough assorted penny sweets to spoil any meal. Please remember, however, that the average weekly allowance was a quarter. Everything considered, today's candy is much cheaper.

Among the nickel class we found most of the big names such as Snickers, Milky Way, Zero, Baby Ruth ( named after President Cleveland's daughter, not the ball player), Butterfinger, Mars, Mr. Goodbar and Payday, to name a few. Mounds and Almond Joy were premium selections usually costing a dime, but you got two bars for the price of one.

Most of these brands were around long before the Fifties, and are still in business today. I'm not sure if they make Zagnuts, 5th Avenue, O'Henry, Sugar Daddy or Bit-O-Honey anymore. How about it, readers; seen any lately?

Many candy bars were meant to be shared; Three Musketeers had indentations that allowed you to break them into three pieces. Hershey bars, much thicker and more flavorful than today's anemic version, were scored into ten pieces.

There were lots of novelty items, such as the little wax bottles full of sweet juice that came in five-packs for a nickel. You bit off the end to get to the drink, then chewed the wax bottle when it was empty. Long rolls of "coin" wafers or little valentine hearts imprinted with funny sayings were big sellers, as were fake red lips and Goofy Gus teeth made of chewable wax.

Penny suckers had twisted loop paper handles to make them safer for little kids. White candy cigarettes with red tips were popular with us more- rebellious kids. Cracker Jack was especially good, and each nickel box contained a real toy, not those stupid little decals and picture cards found in today's product.

Kool-Aid, which sold for a nickel a pack, was useful in two ways: you could follow the directions to mix up a pitcher of drink, or you could tear a corner off and carry the pack around in your shirt pocket all day, occasionally sprinkling Kool-Aid concentrate on your tongue. We delighted in this latter usage, not only for its extremely tart flavor, but also because it allowed us to freak out girls with our weird-colored tongues.

Tootsie Rolls were similarly useful. If you chewed them just enough to make them pliable, they could be twisted and formed into a substance highly suggestive of cat droppings.

Movie theaters had their own best-sellers, including Milk Duds, Raisinets and Chiclets. If you tore one end off a Raisinet box and blew into it, the other end made a loud whistle. No Saturday matinee was complete without Raisinet screeches and explosive poppings of wax-paper popcorn bags, stomped Coke cups, and clapped Planter's peanut packets. One really talented kid (name withheld) once use his Raisinet box to add howler monkey sounds to a Tarzan movie.

Sen-Sen was tiny squares of compressed licorice that came in little cardboard boxes for a nickel. They were especially popular among teenagers because it was said to be good for halitosis. Every boy worthy of his gender chewed some form of licorice, spitting black juice just like his tobacco-chewing elders.

Bubble gum, the bane of teachers everywhere, was a hot item in every neighborhood store. My own personal favorite was Fleer's Double Bubble, which provided a huge block of highly sweetened gum along with a little comic strip. Bazooka was another popular brand, also with enclosed funnies, although Fleer's seemed to blow better bubbles. Bubble gum trading cards were popular, especially those with military jets and cowboy stars, or ball players.

My father had a tiny "creamery" in Gate City, just across Georgia Road from the Marks Village government housing project. Kids were his main customers, but in this neighborhood most were very poor. Daddy sold tons of bubble gum, Kits, Necco wafers, anything that could be bought cheaply in quantity.

It was heart-breaking to watch them come in with a few pennies clutched tightly in their hand and minutely examine everything in the candy case to make sure they got the most for their money. It often took five or ten minutes to close the deal. Daddy had grown up in some very hard times himself; I watched him mis-count in their favor more than once .

Who says kids don't stick together?