Retro Candy Memories
These are retro candy memories, written and submitted by our readers. If you'd like to share a story about the candy that you grew up with, Write Your Memories here.
"I grew up in a big family. So we always ran out of milk, Since I was the youngest I got sent to the Corner Store to pick up a gallon. With change I would get a watchamacallit candy bar, the only thing was it was behind the counter. So I would have to ask the owner for it. For nearly a year it was the same routine, I can't give you a candy bar if you don't know the name of it. I miss watchamacallits and corner stores." - Michael H., Chicago, IL
"Every Sunday after church, my mother would take my two sisters and I to the candy store. We were allowed to get any kind of candy we wanted, and I would always get a tube of "Toothpaste Gum" that was the sweetest and weirdest kind of candy I had ever had. It was in a tube, much like a toothpaste tube, but it was not minty. I haven't seen that kind of candy since I was just a little boy, but I still keep my eyes open." - Andrew Z., New Richmond, WI
"I remember candy necklaces. I loved wearing them before eating them." - Jennifer V., El Cajon, CA
"I grew up with so many fine candies and have such good memories of all of them. my fave is corn suckers, the kind that had money in them, AWESOME!! Would get them at recess at school, fond memories in Louisiana!!" - Nenette M., Florence, KY
"Once a week, Mom went to the grocery store. Once a month, she brought us and let us each choose 1 item that we wanted. We always chose Wonder Balls. Wonder Balls were balls of chocolate with little candies and stickers. We would bite a hole into the chocolate so we could reach in and eat the candies. We didn't like the candies so we ate it first, saving the best for last. Then we finished the chocolate. Finally, we got the sticker, our favorite part. That's right, stickers are our favorite part of our candy, like every kid digs through the cereal box just to get the prize. Wonderballs are now impossible to find in stores and it's too bad because if they had them I would buy some today." - Anna, St.Paul, MN
Lilly B. of Brooklyn NY wrote: "I can remember going to the candy store in upstate New York when we would go camping during the summers. I can't remember the name of the store, but the woman who ran it was named Mrs. Wallace. She would give me and my sister a little basket and we would fill it with penny candy. Our mother would let us eat candy at night while we sat at the campfire. Those were good times."
Colleen W. of New Cambria: "I remember when I was little, my sister, brother and I would go around and find empty bottles and take it to the ice stock to trade in to buy candy...It was so much fun to go and see how many bottles we could find for the penny candy...I'm sure it wasn't as fun for the clerk as it was for us kids LOL!"
"I remember hot cinnamon toothpicks that were sold as a candy when I was a kid. My parents would make us do odd jobs to earn these cheap little packs of hot toothpicks. I haven't seen them for sale since I was a kid." " - Olivia D., West Union, OH
"My best memory when I was a kid was after church our family would go to the drug store which had fountain soda. It was a big treat to get fountain soda and we would get a large (which is the equivalent to a medium these days) and we would split it. The other thing (and my favorite) was to get a cherry smash. I love the flavors of the cherry smash and I can occasionally find them now especially if we are in the South. My sister and I got to split the cherry smash with my mom taking a little bit of it too!" - Tracy M., Pacific, MO
"My favorite memory is with my grandmother who always kept candy in her purse and around her house. She always had the ribbon candy with all the pretty colors swirled throughout around Christmastime and would sneak me butterscotch candies to me during church. I loved those things!" - Keri K., Rustburg, VA
"Well I used to go to the "penny candy store" in Scotland where I grew up. My friends and I would bring 5p, 10p, or if we were really lucky, 50p. We would buy a paper bag filled with whichever candies we chose (one for a penny.) My favorite one by far were the Coke Can bottles (a soft candy that tasted like Coca Cola.) " - May D., Athens, GA
"On Christmas night, after all the excitement of Santa had worn off and all the fatigue had begin to set in, we would always have to go to my Great Aunt's house for a Christmas dinner with all the extended family. We would have to put on scratchy, fancy dresses and sit still. One of the best parts of the evening was when our cousin would bring a huge Santa bag full of chocolate covered mints. He gave each one of us our own box. To add to the treat, no one else in my family really liked the mints, so I got to snack on mints all year long!" - Carrie H., Concord, NC
"As a child my favorite candy was jelly beans. I was particularly fond of the licorice flavored ones. Those were also my father's favorites. One year my Easter basket contained a rather large tree branch and on each stick was tied a licorice jelly bean. Oddly enough, as an adult I had to race 2 other people in the office to the candy bowl for the licorice when the bowl was replenished. Somethings we just don't outgrow." - Diana S., Arlington, TX
"I remember when my grandfather would sit me on his lap and we would share mint julups.... I cried for hours after we finished them all and he would go to the store and refill that bowl again..." - Michele T., Winthrop, ME
"When my dad was a kid, candy was cheap. His mother would send him down to the local store to buy her a spool of thread. A candy bar and a spool of thread cost the same. My dad would "forget" to buy the spool of thread, and buy himself a candy bar. After a couple times of this, he had to have a note from his mother to buy a candy bar." - Linda G., Tualatin, OR
"I'm Japanese and I grew up in a small town where kids love to go to small corner stores. We used all our money we saved (coins!!) to draw lotteries so that we could win bigger candies. A lot of times you didn't win anything, but that was okay too. I loved those candies made out of papers (which I believe is true). They have cute designs on them and just loved to look at them and taste them. They bring back my fond memories of childhood." - Yasuko J., Rock Tavern, NY
"The Zero Bar is not your average candy bar as it is a candy with a history spanning over 70 years! It was first introduced in the 1920’s by the now defunct Hollywood Brands Candy Company and is now owned by Hershey Foods although this transition took place over many years and included many owners in between. The candy bar is unique in that it consists of a delicious amalgamation of almonds, peanuts and caramel nougat covered, or shall we say , drenched, with delicious white fudge. This was even more controversial upon its release as most candy bars then, as now, are coated in milk chocolate. As per the name, this has been the subject of candy lore as it was not touted as a reduced calorie candy bar – hence the name Zero – but rather because the white coating was supposed to give the impression of snow and, metaphorically speaking, “cool as zero degrees.” The original wrapper had a Polar Bear on it and upon it’s initial release, was called Double Zero. It wasn’t until 1934 that it formally became known as the Zero Bar." - Amy L., Louisville, KY
"Growing up Me and My three sisters loved Botan Rice Candy. It sounds pretty gross. But as a kid it was about the coolest thing ever! Botan Rice Candy is a soft, chewy, slightly lemon-orange flavored candy with an outer layer of rice paper. The rice paper is clear and plastic-like when dry, but it is edible and melts in your mouth. It is a traditional Japanese candy. Whats more fun then actually being allowed and encouraged to eat paper? Plus each box comes with a cool sticker." - Nicole T., Richmond, IL
"I grew up in a big family. So we always ran out of milk, Since I was the youngest I got sent to the Corner Store to pick up a gallon. With change I would get a watchamacallit candy bar, the only thing was it was behind the counter. So I would have to ask the owner for it. For nearly a year it was the same routine, I can't give you a candy bar if you don't know the name of it. I miss watchamacallits and corner stores." - Michael H., Chicago, IL
"Every Sunday after church, my mother would take my two sisters and I to the candy store. We were allowed to get any kind of candy we wanted, and I would always get a tube of "Toothpaste Gum" that was the sweetest and weirdest kind of candy I had ever had. It was in a tube, much like a toothpaste tube, but it was not minty. I haven't seen that kind of candy since I was just a little boy, but I still keep my eyes open." - Andrew Z., New Richmond, WI
"I remember candy necklaces. I loved wearing them before eating them." - Jennifer V., El Cajon, CA
"I grew up with so many fine candies and have such good memories of all of them. my fave is corn suckers, the kind that had money in them, AWESOME!! Would get them at recess at school, fond memories in Louisiana!!" - Nenette M., Florence, KY
"Once a week, Mom went to the grocery store. Once a month, she brought us and let us each choose 1 item that we wanted. We always chose Wonder Balls. Wonder Balls were balls of chocolate with little candies and stickers. We would bite a hole into the chocolate so we could reach in and eat the candies. We didn't like the candies so we ate it first, saving the best for last. Then we finished the chocolate. Finally, we got the sticker, our favorite part. That's right, stickers are our favorite part of our candy, like every kid digs through the cereal box just to get the prize. Wonderballs are now impossible to find in stores and it's too bad because if they had them I would buy some today." - Anna, St.Paul, MN
Lilly B. of Brooklyn NY wrote: "I can remember going to the candy store in upstate New York when we would go camping during the summers. I can't remember the name of the store, but the woman who ran it was named Mrs. Wallace. She would give me and my sister a little basket and we would fill it with penny candy. Our mother would let us eat candy at night while we sat at the campfire. Those were good times."
Colleen W. of New Cambria: "I remember when I was little, my sister, brother and I would go around and find empty bottles and take it to the ice stock to trade in to buy candy...It was so much fun to go and see how many bottles we could find for the penny candy...I'm sure it wasn't as fun for the clerk as it was for us kids LOL!"
"I remember hot cinnamon toothpicks that were sold as a candy when I was a kid. My parents would make us do odd jobs to earn these cheap little packs of hot toothpicks. I haven't seen them for sale since I was a kid." " - Olivia D., West Union, OH
"My best memory when I was a kid was after church our family would go to the drug store which had fountain soda. It was a big treat to get fountain soda and we would get a large (which is the equivalent to a medium these days) and we would split it. The other thing (and my favorite) was to get a cherry smash. I love the flavors of the cherry smash and I can occasionally find them now especially if we are in the South. My sister and I got to split the cherry smash with my mom taking a little bit of it too!" - Tracy M., Pacific, MO
"My favorite memory is with my grandmother who always kept candy in her purse and around her house. She always had the ribbon candy with all the pretty colors swirled throughout around Christmastime and would sneak me butterscotch candies to me during church. I loved those things!" - Keri K., Rustburg, VA
"Well I used to go to the "penny candy store" in Scotland where I grew up. My friends and I would bring 5p, 10p, or if we were really lucky, 50p. We would buy a paper bag filled with whichever candies we chose (one for a penny.) My favorite one by far were the Coke Can bottles (a soft candy that tasted like Coca Cola.) " - May D., Athens, GA
"On Christmas night, after all the excitement of Santa had worn off and all the fatigue had begin to set in, we would always have to go to my Great Aunt's house for a Christmas dinner with all the extended family. We would have to put on scratchy, fancy dresses and sit still. One of the best parts of the evening was when our cousin would bring a huge Santa bag full of chocolate covered mints. He gave each one of us our own box. To add to the treat, no one else in my family really liked the mints, so I got to snack on mints all year long!" - Carrie H., Concord, NC
"As a child my favorite candy was jelly beans. I was particularly fond of the licorice flavored ones. Those were also my father's favorites. One year my Easter basket contained a rather large tree branch and on each stick was tied a licorice jelly bean. Oddly enough, as an adult I had to race 2 other people in the office to the candy bowl for the licorice when the bowl was replenished. Somethings we just don't outgrow." - Diana S., Arlington, TX
"I remember when my grandfather would sit me on his lap and we would share mint julups.... I cried for hours after we finished them all and he would go to the store and refill that bowl again..." - Michele T., Winthrop, ME
"When my dad was a kid, candy was cheap. His mother would send him down to the local store to buy her a spool of thread. A candy bar and a spool of thread cost the same. My dad would "forget" to buy the spool of thread, and buy himself a candy bar. After a couple times of this, he had to have a note from his mother to buy a candy bar." - Linda G., Tualatin, OR
"I'm Japanese and I grew up in a small town where kids love to go to small corner stores. We used all our money we saved (coins!!) to draw lotteries so that we could win bigger candies. A lot of times you didn't win anything, but that was okay too. I loved those candies made out of papers (which I believe is true). They have cute designs on them and just loved to look at them and taste them. They bring back my fond memories of childhood." - Yasuko J., Rock Tavern, NY
"The Zero Bar is not your average candy bar as it is a candy with a history spanning over 70 years! It was first introduced in the 1920’s by the now defunct Hollywood Brands Candy Company and is now owned by Hershey Foods although this transition took place over many years and included many owners in between. The candy bar is unique in that it consists of a delicious amalgamation of almonds, peanuts and caramel nougat covered, or shall we say , drenched, with delicious white fudge. This was even more controversial upon its release as most candy bars then, as now, are coated in milk chocolate. As per the name, this has been the subject of candy lore as it was not touted as a reduced calorie candy bar – hence the name Zero – but rather because the white coating was supposed to give the impression of snow and, metaphorically speaking, “cool as zero degrees.” The original wrapper had a Polar Bear on it and upon it’s initial release, was called Double Zero. It wasn’t until 1934 that it formally became known as the Zero Bar." - Amy L., Louisville, KY
"Growing up Me and My three sisters loved Botan Rice Candy. It sounds pretty gross. But as a kid it was about the coolest thing ever! Botan Rice Candy is a soft, chewy, slightly lemon-orange flavored candy with an outer layer of rice paper. The rice paper is clear and plastic-like when dry, but it is edible and melts in your mouth. It is a traditional Japanese candy. Whats more fun then actually being allowed and encouraged to eat paper? Plus each box comes with a cool sticker." - Nicole T., Richmond, IL