# OMG! I can remember penny candy. & other stuff



## fuzzybuddy (Jan 11, 2016)

I'm 70, and when I was a little kid, I barely remember the end of the previous era. I can remember going to the store to buy penny candy-ya know 3 of these for a penny, the caramels 4 for a penny. These two brothers, both in their 90s, had an old fashion store. There was a large glass case with trays of candy in it. You could buy 4 of these for a penny, but only 2 of those for a penny, etc. If you had a nickel, it would take 20 minutes trying to figure out what you were going to buy.

Also, I was born in a town that was settled by French-Canadians. When I was a kid, Wednesday afternoon was "French Day". All the clerks in the stores down town would only speak French.
Another thing, we were all French-Canadian Catholics. The next town over was all Polish Catholics. My French-Canadian aunt married one of those Polish Catholics. Horrors!!  
I heard my two old biddy great-aunts being upset that my aunt couldn't "marry one of her own kind". Today, you're happy if the spouse is human.


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## Karen99 (Jan 11, 2016)

Lol..you made me laugh with that last line .  I'm 65 so maybe things went up but I remember the candy store across the street from the school..and I remember gettin 5 cents a day to spend.  

I enjoyed reading your memories


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## SifuPhil (Jan 11, 2016)

Yes, those were great days at the candy store.

Now, the convenience store up the street charges 5 cents per piece of loose candy. Not too bad, considering the passage of so many years.

But their selection is nowhere near as awesome as ours was.


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## Capt Lightning (Jan 13, 2016)

Ah yes, we had our equivalent in the UK.  4 'Black Jacks' or 4 'Fruit salad' for 1 old penny.  Sweets (as we called them) from big glass jars were about 6 pence for 4 ozs.  There are quite a few traditional sweet shops here now - obviously a taste for nostalgia.
A very traditional Scottish sweet called 'Coulter's Candy' has made a comeback.  It gave rise to one of the first advertising 'jingles' in the mid 1800's.  It starts.......

Ally bally, ally bally bee,
Sittin' on yer mammy's knee,
Greetin' for a wee bawbee, 
Tae buy some Coulter's candy. 

Poor wee Jeanie's gettin' awfy thin, 
A rickle o' banes covered ower wi' skin,
Noo she's gettin' a wee double chin, 
Wi' sookin' Coulter's Candy.


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## QuickSilver (Jan 13, 2016)

The store I went to was strategically placed down the street from my elementary school..  It was called JoJo's  owned by an old Italian man who lived in the back.  He has a huge assortment of penny candies.. and that was a frequent stop after school.


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## Greeneyes (Jan 14, 2016)

My dad told me when he was a kid, a sack of candy cost one penny! Must have been great being a kid in those days!


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## fureverywhere (Jan 14, 2016)

Yeah Fuzz, my brother married Irish and I married Italian and it did raise eyebrows in the family.

Penny candy oh yum. We would go to Cape Cod for the summer. Hyannis had a penny/nickel/dime/quarter store with a variety I haven't seen since. The best? A cherry flavored mushy lipsticky thing, those flying saucers, the wax soda bottles, caramel bullseyes, and cotton candy...always cotton candy.


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## chic (Jan 15, 2016)

Penny candy? Loved it. Especially Mary Janes the toffee covered peanut butter rectangles that could rip a filling out. ( Or a baby tooth). I remember 5 cent candy bars too. Every Sat afternoon when my friends and I would go to the movies, I'd buy 5 candy bars for 25 cents at the drugstore on the way.

Good times. :cheerful:


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## Arachne (Jan 19, 2016)

I remember getting 25 cents a week, for chores from mum and dad.  To which I would skip on down, to the corner store and buy a 12 cent bottle of Coca cola, a 10 cent candy bar and 3 penny mojo's.. Good times..


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