Penny Candy

How many times have we heard or said,…”Well for 2 cents I’d…!”

Well, I know what I did!

Back in those childhood summer vacations you could create a dream come true for 2 cents.  If we left the house, meandered about the neighborhood scouring for a Coke bottle tossed to the side of the road, we could turn it in for 2 cents. It was fortune hunting at its finest. Two bottles would be hitting the mother load. You must realize that this little jaunt would traverse only two blocks. With bottles in hand, (yes I hit the mother load), I walked to the local variety store, family owned, very small & oh so convenient to turn in the candy collateral. 

These were the days of penny candy…. a worthwhile trip if ever there was one…and only little variety stores carried this precious cargo. Two cents could work wonders, four cents worked magic. Penny candy was more than its worth. Back then, you could get two-for-one cent. That’s right. Two pieces of candy for one penny! There were banana splits, squirrel nuts, mint juleps, fireballs & licorice whips. Then for one whole cent we entered into the higher line of confections such as wax lips, mustaches & teeth! You could chew on those all day. Well worth a penny for sure! The ever-favorite candy-buttons, colored sugar on paper, was another great buy. Two cents would buy a candy necklace. The food color dye ring around your neck from the necklace was a mark of pride. Well worth the price of two cents!

I didn’t leave with just candy. I left with a treasure trove. Some could be eaten immediately while others were saved. Some were savored, lasting a long time like the gob-stoppers. Occasionally they could be worn all at one time like the family jewels…. a sign of a child’s royal heritage…. the nouveau riche of the neighborhood!

Penny candy is truly a combination of lovely & delicious. Most small variety stores in the area are gone. I don’t know if they even have penny candy by the piece anymore. Most corners have been bought up by pharmaceutical conglomerates with large packages of very nice candy, but it’s just not the same. The magic is lost. It’s just as well. If I wore a pair of red wax lips today, I’d look more like Mrs. Potato Head!

Cathy