The excited lad took the end stool at the Dime Store lunch counter.
He slapped down his Two Bits and asked...
"Phosphates are still a nickel aren't they Mr. Conway?"
'Yes Johnny, they are still a nickel'.
"OK, I'll have a Cherry Phosphate, a Lemon Phosphate, a Pineapple
Phosphate, an Orange Phosphate, and a Chocolate Phosphate!
And Mr. Conway? Are those Horehound Candies still 2 for a penny?"
Growing up in Michigan, we had Kresge Dime Stores all over.
Dime stores/Five and Dimes, whatever, they all had lunch counters
and soda fountains. A phosphate was any ice cream flavor with soda
water added. Horehound is a very old fashioned flavor that is very
strong, almost medicinal in taste. You can still find that flavor in retro
shops like The Cracker Barrel. When I was a kid, all candy bars was a nickel,
except for a Zero, it was only 3 cents. Remember the Bun Maple Cream?
How about Sky Bar? Walnetto's? What did you love as a kid, that you wish
you was un-wrapping Right Now?
Two-Bits was .25 Cents
Drug Stores were Apothecaries
Mr. Conway was a Soda Jerk
10 comments:
When I was little, I used to get a quarter for a treat on Saturday. It could buy you a can of pop and a bag of chips or a huge bag of penny candy. It was always a tough decision. :)
I miss the spearmint leaves. I never see those anymore. And we used to get pixie sticks. Not the super honking ones they have now.
I remember full sized jolly rancher candies. You could make a shiv out of one and stab your shitty cousin with it, then lick the evidence into a stub.
nice...my thing growing up was elephant ears...used to get them at the little shop...and love horehounds....still get a bag every once in a while...cool nostalgia man...
How the hell old are you anyway? I lived on vanilla phosphates! Sitting at the counters at Kresges and Woolworths. OH and Talon mentioned spearmint leaves ~~~ be still my heart ~~ I loved those too. Thanks for the memories .......
did you know the founder of the kresge five and dime was born in my neck of the woods?
as for childhood candy...hhmm...i loved jawbreakers and bazooka for cheapo candy. for chocolate i liked 100 grand.
Never heard of any of those, but then we don't have them here in Britain.
I suppose our equivalent was the penny tray in the sweet shop. :)
I wouldn't mind opening up my 9th grade teachers blouse.
There used to be these hard candies, like life savers, but they were sour. Sour orange, sour lemon, etc. They don't sound very good, but oh they were. I used to beg my father to buy them for me. He always did.
Now I know what a phosphate was.
Charleston Chews because you seemed to get more for your money. Sour lemon drops my grandmother kept in a glass jar were a treat. And... good old fashioned caramel ...
Mmmmm. . . Zero bars. . .
I used to get a pineapple malt at Kresge's. . .
Sugar Babies and Boyer Smoothies and Beech Nut Sour Apple gum. . .
Post a Comment