So, it started off innocently enough. I had asked one of the guys I work with about a delivery and he said, “Ask Charlie.” So, after I did, I went back to this other guy and here’s the rest of our conversation.
I began, “Charlie said.” And then, I was suddenly struck with a candy commercial memory. So, I sang, “Charlie said, love my Good & Plenty. Charlie said, really rings my bell. Charlie said, love my Good & Plenty. Don’t know any other candy that I love so well.”
Him: “What?”
Me: “Good & Plenties.” And then he gives me that I dunno what yer talking about look.
Me: “You don’t remember Good & Plenty?”
Him: “No”
Me: “The little pink and white licorice candies sorta oblong shaped, came in a little purplish rectangle box?”
Him: “No.”
Me: “And in the commercial, the little animated guy – Choo Choo Charlie – wore a train engineer’s cap, rode up and down the hills in his little train and sang the Good & Plenty theme song.”
Him: “Nope. Well, maybe I remember the candies, used to get them at the theater, I think, but no, I don’t remember nuthin’ about your Choo Choo Charlie fellow.”
Strange, I thought, that someone ten years older than me doesn’t remember this commercial. So, since I love the internet, I looked it up.
And, to my delight, I discovered a few semi-interesting facts. Did you know that Good & Plenty was first produced in 1893 by Quaker City Confectionary Company in Philadelphia and is considered the oldest branded candy in the US? And, did you know that, although it had several owners during the 1900s, Good & Plenty was bought by Hershey Foods in 2008! (Hey, you never know, it could be a Jeopardy question one day.)
I love Good & Plenty! Wanna see the commercial? I found it on You Tube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExSlyoVTX3I
Anyway, it got me to thinking about other old time candies I use to love as a kid.
Does anyone remember those candy cigarettes that if you blew on them, some white powder would come out that was suppose to look like smoke?
How about Boyer Mallo Cups and Boyer Smoothies. “Boy, oh Boy oh, Boyer Smoothie.” Yeah, I vaguely remember a song associated with that one, too! Did you know that the Boyer Company in Altoona, PA was the first to create a candy in a cup shape like that? Yep, it predates Reeses Peanut Butter Cups! Do you remember the cardboard play money included that you could collect and redeem from their prize catalog?
How about Black Jack, Beemans and Clove gum?
Do you remember Ice Cubes? God, I loved those, too. A chunk of chocolate that melted like an ice cube in your mouth!
Necco wafers!
Some of these items are no longer available everywhere. I had a Mallo Cup about a year and half ago when I was visiting sister peep, Bonnie. She had one on her kitchen counter to greet me when I arrived! And, it was probably the first one I had in over 20 years. You just can’t find them in the south.
You can find lots of this “candy we grew up on” on the internet. You can place an order from the comfort of your desk and get it shipped right to your door.
Somehow, though, it’s a lot more fun, stumbling upon a candy memory by accident, when you least expect it. A candy surprise!
You know, I think I’m going to try to stumble upon a Boyer Smoothie on my next trip to Pennsylvania!
Please tell me I’m not the only one that remembers the Choo Choo Charlie song.
And, what other candies did we love when we were little kids?
