Penny candy.
Now THAT is a term that brings back memories. Something kids today know nothing about. In fact, it’s a bit of an oxymoron, because you sure as sugar can’t find any pieces of candy for a penny anymore. If you’re familiar with and near a Dollar Tree store, where everything is a dollar (actually $1.25 now – thank you, inflation), you can at least find some of those familiar candy store items.
Only in this case, you’ll get between 20-25 pieces in one bag.
In my hometown of East Chicago (in the region called the Harbor), we had stores everywhere, and none suffering from lack of business. In my neighborhood alone we had 7 stores that sold candy within a one-block radius of my house and two legitimate candy stores. Within a four-block radius we had additional stores like Manuel’s, Wally’s, Dino’s, Jerry’s and others. The most popular being Old Man’s Store, right on the end of my block. We named it that because, so few people actually knew the name of the kind old man that owned and operated it.
If you were around in the 70s and 80s in our area, you might remember that at Old Man’s Store, a penny could get you a nice-sized piece of candy. A dime could get you a nice double handful. And a quarter? Empty your corduroy pants pockets before you walk in because you’re about to fill them. Thankfully, “Old Man” would put anything beyond 5-10 pieces in a small paper bag for you.
Funny side story: Although we knew it as “Old Man’s Store” no one actually referred to him as such. Well, almost no one. My youngest brother, while trying to get his attention, once yelled out, “Hey, Old Man!”
That man’s face changed to a look none of us had ever seen before as he yelled back, “Old man? OLD MAN? Who are you calling old man? Do you go home and say that to your father? DO you??”
Nobody ever made that mistake again…
Anyway, back to my story.
So, what could you buy for a penny? Dude. A candied cherry, a gummy fish, a piece of licorice string, a Big Bol candy/gum chew, tootsie roll, butter scotch, peppermint, caramel, etc. Then there were the two cent candies like Bit O’ Honey, Mary Jane peanut butter candy, Smarties, coconut caramel, and on and on. And then there were the dime boxes, full of Boston Baked Beans, Lemonheads, Sugar babies, Gilbert Grape, Hot Tamales, Junior Mints, yada-yada-ya. Starting to bring back memories?
Some kids loved to buy the candy cigarettes for a dime. They looked like miniature cigarettes, complete with colored tips. We used to stand around and pretend to be smoking them, holding them between the tips of our forefingers and thumbs in the shape of an “ok” sign with our hands.
I laugh when I think back on the times when a certain chubby girl (who shall remain nameless) would buy the candy necklaces (little elastic stringed bands, with chewable candy affixed along them like beads).
She would put them on her neck just so the boys could come up and nibble them off of her.
And how about the candy bars? My oldest memories of them were when they were… …wait for it… FIFTEEN CENTS!!! Most kids growing up in the 70s remember when they were a quarter. And believe it or not, they were actually at least 25% BIGGER than what you buy now at the grocery stores for $1-$2. Milky Way, Almond Joy, Hershey bar, etc. There were brands people today never even heard of: Zagnut, Marathon Bar, Charleston Chew, Reggie Bar (named after famed baseball player Reggie Jackson), Mr. Goodbar, Oh Henry, and so much more. My personal favorites were the Snickers, Mars and that diabetic coma-inducing Zero bar.
But what was so cool about candy back then was the endless choices you had. You name it and someone loved it more than life. Everybody had a reason to drop in.
Give me a few quarters and I was quick to get a pack of Banana Now & Laters, Stage Planks (iced cinnamon cookies), Charm’s Blow Pop (an oval-shaped sucker with gum at center) and a bag of Jay’s (not Lay’s) O-Ke-Doke popcorn or barbecued potato chips.
Old Man’s store was paradise.
But Old Man’s store was also next level. On the adjacent side of the candy was a series of top loading freezers containing ice cream varieties that you would normally buy from the ice cream truck: Drumsticks, Superstars, Fudgesicles, Popsicles, Twin Pops, Strawberry Crunch Bars, Dreamsicles and others.
He also sold 8-pack cases (as well as individually) of 16 oz. bottles of pop (this is the Midwest; we don’t acknowledge the term soda).
Back in those days, if you returned the empty (glass) bottles, you got .10 deposit back on each bottle.
And he carried every flavor you could imagine. Coca Cola, Pepsi, RC Cola, Dr. Pepper, 7-Up, Orange/Grape/Strawberry Crush and Nehi, Dad’s and Drafts Root Beer and so many others, all in one little store.
Then there were the comic books on display on two vertical racks and in both of his windows facing the street. He had them all! Any Marvel or DC comic you could think of.
But the store wasn’t exclusively for kids. He sold all of the local newspapers and major magazines. And under the covered tarp, he sold the X-rated magazines. No kid was brave enough to pull those up for viewing.
Whenever my Aunt Dee would visit, she’d often send me to his store to purchase her cigarettes. She originally sent me with a note, but after time, I could just come in and ask for them and he knew she was in town and that they were for her. He also knew my family and that no one else smoked.
Before long, the older guys on the basketball court started using me as their errand boy. We lived on the corner diagonal to Callahan Park, closest to the court. When I sat on the porch, they’d often call out and motion for “Lil’ Kenny” (my dad was Big Ken). I knew then that someone needed me to run to the store and pick up some (cigarette) rolling paper. All I had to do was ask for a pack of Tops.
It took me a while to figure out that they weren’t rolling cigarettes. Tops were for mainly used for rolling marijuana, which we knew as joints, reefer and weed. For making the run, they would give me anywhere from 25 cents to a dollar.
And if you got a dollar, you were rich and highly favored.
You were cool. You were the candy king!
You see, a dollar was GOLD at Old Man’s store. You could purchase a series of higher-end candy, but most kids “topped the bag”, meaning you bought a bag or two full of 100 pieces of penny candy!
With that treasure, even your worst enemies became your friends, even if for only one day.
And try as you might, there was no way you could hide a full brown bag of candy.
But in a neighborhood full of pretty girls who could spot you a half a block away, who wanted to?
Sadly, the era of the penny candy store is over. Today, you can catch a novelty store from time to time that specializes in all the good stuff. But it ain’t the same (especially the price).
I did manage to take a picture of the place while driving by during a visit back in 1994. But by then, it had long since been vacated. I’m just glad those memories have not vacated my mind. That is why I share them with my children, as I do with you.
It’s a case of woulda-coulda-shoulda, but if I knew back then that those days wouldn’t last, I would have taken a picture of the interior of Old Man’s Store AND Mr. Whatever His Name Was, as well as his younger assistant.
Most all of the families that lived on my block have moved away. But I do remember that some people knew the store owner’s name and the whereabouts of his family. I’m sure if I could find them, they probably have a few photos of the old business. Maybe I’ll ask around on Facebook.
Yeah, Old Man’s store is gone. But not the memories.
Because I often think about Dino’s, Manuel’s, Alice’s, House Of Slip Covers, Stinky’s, and so many others.
And I think about Old Man’s store, every time I pay $1.25 for a bag of M&Ms that is smaller than the one I could get for a quarter, 45 (wow) years ago. Along with everything else.
Happy National Candy Day!
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