Does this ever happen to you? Here’s the scenario. A simple question gets asked. No one knows the answer. It becomes like a trivia question and everyone wracks their brains trying to think of the answer. Ding! Ding! Ding! when someone shouts out the correct answer. And, it is fun. And, everyone now has the answer! And sometimes, it becomes truly a game, with more related trivia questions and answers!
But, what happens when no one has the answer? Does it bother you? Does someone look it up? If it’s not that important, can you let it go?
I ask, because when this happens to me, I can’t let it go. And, I ‘m not just talking about a fun question, where there are a bunch of people trying to come up with an answer. I’m talking about the day to day questions that happen everyday. You see, I have a thing about unanswered questions.
For instance, if someone wonders what time it is in Paris right now, I have to look it up. If someone asks who wrote a certain book, I look it up. If someone asks me how to spell a word, I’ll look it up to confirm I’m right.
Here’s a recent example. Brian asked me the other day, “Is Robert Palmer dead?”
I said, “I dunno. Let me look it up.” And, so I did.
Is this normal behavior or a little over the edge? I mean it really isn’t that important to my daily living to know this answer, is it? But, for me, once he asked the question I had to know the answer.
Brian even said, “Not necessary, Cindy. It’s not that important.”
And, I said, “Well, no it’s not, but it will only take me a sec to look it up.”
The bottom line is that I do not like unanswered questions. Which takes me to the subject of this blog : Fix-A-Drink.
I was thinking about a drink we had growing up in the 60s. It was a syrup concentrate that had to be mixed with water. My mind was telling me that my favorite flavor was grape, although it also came in a couple of other flavors. My mind was telling me it was called, Fix-A-Drink.
Now there are a lot of unanswered questions with this thinking, like what other flavors did it come in, where was it made, how long was the company that made it in business, did it make anything else, yada, yada.
Tons of unanswered questions, so, I went to the internet looking for answers. I googled Fix-A-Drink and got nothing! I googled grape, syrup, concentrates, 1960s, western Pennsylvania, you name it and got nothing! Oh, my goodness! I searched for several hours looking for the answers to these totally unimportant questions.
Silly, I know. But, I was driven to find out. While searching I stumbled upon several websites and blogs that talked about old-timey drinks, like Moxie, a favorite in Massachusettes, and NeHi grape and orange sodas. I learned more on the web about Coca-Cola than I did at its corporate headquarters in Atlanta and more about Dr. Pepper than I ever cared to know and Tang and root beer and cream sodas. I learned about the maple syrup diet, where you apparently drink several tablespoons of maple syrup several times a day to give yourself a sugar rush and suppress your appetite! Gee, I had never heard of this one, and I’ve tried a lot of them!
But, not one lousy little reference out there on the whole world wide freakin’ web about Fix-A-Drink, dammit!
So, I called my sister, Bonnie. Before I could get the whole description about the syrup concentrate out of my mouth, she said, “Fix-A-Drink.” So, then I asked hubby, Brian, if his mom ever bought this syrupy concentrate thing, and before I could say its name, he said “Fix-A-Drink.”
So, I know it existed. But, I’m so frustrated because of these remaining unanswered trivial, meaningless, anal questions. So, please if anyone out there can supply a few answers, help me escape this misery!
I grew up in Johnstown, PA and my grandma used to make orange fix a drink. Every Sunday we had family dinners at Gram’s it was our treat. My cousin called it “THAT”–don’t know why, but it stuck. “More “THAT” please” was a frequent request. Now it’s a pleasant memory. I recently happened upon Mio’s orange tangerine drink additive and it brought “THAT” to mind. Enjoy!
Yes, Johnstown is where I and my family are from. We loved all the flavors! Thanks for commenting, Ann!
I just looked it up and found a place that the company went outta biz in 2002. I have looked for it many times as well. I grew up in Elkridge, my dearly beloved was in Pimlico and then Towson. He never had it, but my brother and I guzzled so much that I can’t believe they ever went under! I wonder if sugar, additives and new rules from our FDA ruined them.
I remember Bennetts Fix A Drink. I grew up in Baltimore and Glen Burnie, MD in the 60’s. We always had an assortment of flavors in the kitchen cabinet. I still have the hand cranked ice crusher that was mounted at the top of our basement steps. We’d throw in some ice, crush it up, put it in a glass and add Bennetts Fix A Drink.
This is the first place I’ve found where anyone else remembered the stuff.
I am so glad that there are a few of us out here in the world that do remember! The ice crusher sounds cool! Is it still usable? Thanks for commenting!
Yes Cindy the ice crusher still works. Unfortunately the cup that is supposed to snap on to the bottom and catch the ice is missing. It has a name on the top that says Magic Hostess. Maybe I can find a replacement cup in an antique store or something. Up until now nobody I’ve talked to remembers Bennetts Fix A Drink. Except for my sister. All the flavors smelled and tasted so good. Root Beer was my favorite though.
I loved Root Beer flavored, too! We had an ice crusher, too. Ours was a snowman to make snow cones! I had totally forgotten about it until this conversation with you! Funny!
Do I remember Bennett’s fix-a-drink, boy do I. I thought magically that I would be commensated for it, having Bennett as my maiden name and just being a little child at the time. My eldest sister and I just had this conversation on 12/31/11 and the other good things we remember while growing up in the 700 blk. of Fairmount Avenue in Baltimore, Md. The taste was out of this world for me to remember it as being an adult now in my 50’s. I wish I could purchase it today.
I came across this blog and know that its old but I need to comment. You described the exact frustration I experienced. I was pretty sure the name was Fix a Drink too but I couldnt find a thing about it.
My grandmother always had it when I visited as a kid and she lived in Edgewater Md, just south of Annapolis. Now knowing it was bottled in Baltimore it was likely a regional product which explains the scarcity.
Here is the interesting part. We recently went on a trip to Canada (we live in Maryland) and stayed at an RV resort right on Lake Erie about 20 minutes south of Niagara Falls.
We went out to eat at a mom and pop restaurant nearby and as the waitress is naming all the available beverages she mentions one called “Loganberry”. I ask what that is and she says its a well known local favorite drink, so I order it. As soon as I take the first sip I realize it tastes exactly like the black cherry Fix a Drink!
Even though I hadnt had Fix a Drink for over 40 years the memory came rushing back because I liked it so much as a kid. My 13 year old son also really liked the Loganberry so we ordered it at every restaurant we ate at during the our Canada trip.
We found out near the end of the vacation that the drink originated at Crystal Beach, a turn of the century beach resort on Lake Erie and is still bottled as a syrup mix sold as Cronfelts Loganberry Syrup.
We also found out the syrup is sold at supermarkets in the area of Canada just west of Buffalo NY. We bought 4 gallons of it to bring home we liked it so much. Its so popular there the SoBe grocery store we bought it at actually had a Loganberry “section”. These will last us quite a while because the mix is 4 to 1 with water.
If you liked Fix a Drink I highly recommend buying some Cronfelts online because it is fantastic, just how I remember…..
Nick, I am so glad to hear about this! I may have to revise that old fix-a-drink post and add your valuable information! Thanks so much! And, thanks for the comment! I’m going to go see if I can find Cronfelts online right now : )
You won’t believe this but I have a bottle of Bennett’s Fix-A-Drink. It was given to me years ago from a family member & I put it away. I don’t remember drinking it myself. I was born in 1956. I also was born & raised in Baltimore, where this drink is made from. The bottle is full but part of the label is messed up. I just had to share this with all of you.
Debbie
OMG! That stuff has got to be super syrup by now! I did not have the name of Bennett’s in my memory. Thanks for sharing!
Bennett’s Fix-Drink was the product. And you’re right – except for your blog I can’t find any reference to it on the internet. That, a tray of ice cubes and an ice crusher, instant snowballs. Probably a regional product here in Baltimore like Frosty Root Beer and Goetze’s Carmel Cremes.
I love Goetze’s Caramel Creams!
Absolutely there was a syrup that made a soft drink called Fix-a-Drink. My father owned a small corner grocery store in Natrona Heights PA near Pittsburgh and this was a neighborhood staple. I stocked our grocery shelves of this product. I remember the green Lemon-Lime, Root Beer, Black Cherry, and Orange. There may be more flavors but my memory can’t recall much further. I have no idea where it was made but based on the comments thus far it could have been a Western Pennsylvania product.
I have found a lot of information on the internet about a lot of “old timey” products, but cannot find out anything about Fix-a-Drink. I’ve asked friends my age that live in Jersey and they have never heard of it either! So, I am thinking it was a fairly small company with a very small distribution area. I’m glad you know of it! Thanks for commenting, Frank!
i remember fix-a-drink and i loved root beer and orange and i like you could not find anything and my husband is as old as i am and he does not remember it he said i was making it up i only though i was drinking something new that he never heard of lol so if you ever find it or find any answers let me know please
I was surprised that I couldn’t find anything about fix-a-drink, either! I’m wondering if it was a regional drink. Are you from the mid-atlantic states, by chance?
I never heard of Fix-a-Drink; not something we had in Buffalo. What I really wondered about Cindy, was how in the heck did you manage your compulsion for finding answers before the internet?!!!
Daneen, I bought a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica when Carrie was about 3 years old using the excuse that she would need these reference books as soon as she started school. (They were beautiful gold leaf, too! I paid a premium for them!) I am pretty sure I used them much more often than Carrie ever did and I also visited the the reference section at the library quite a bit!
Yes, compulsion is the right word!
I’m in the throes of editing short stories for inclusion in an anthology. One of my writers was looking last week for the word that means “a village built at a waterfall for the purpose of helping convey people and goods around the waterfall”. We know the word exists. We’re still looking.
Mari, Ding, ding, ding! The word you are searching for is portage. In addition to its other meanings about conveying people and cargo around water, it can also refer to the place that the act of portaging is done. There is a town near where I grew up called Portage. P.S. If this is not the word you are looking for, please do not tell me, because I will have to put it back on my unanswered questions list!
Oh no, I went all over www looking up “portage” and it’s perfect! It’s exactly what we were looking for! Thank you so much. 🙂
We had to mix LemonBlend with water. Do you remember that? And yes, We might as well face it, Robert Palmer is dead. Myocardial Infarction. Too many scantily clad girls w/ red lipstick I guess. Just ask me…I know all the answers to EVERYTHING.
Carrie, Hmmm. I’m wondering if an addiction to love is actually a leading cause of heart failure!
Yes!