Man! Step away from the computer for a couple of hours, and look what everyone has dredged up (maybe a poor choice of words?)

Just some responses:

Guest KT: I loved Snaps... in little boxes that only cost a penny... they tried to copy them with the stuff you by in the movie theaters... are they Now and Lasters, or Ike and Mike? They cost $11 a box now, I think..

Mountain Dog - no, Devil gum didn't make it to southern Wisconsin, but I remember the cheap wrappers and how brittle the gum was. Back when I first started to write all this stuff down, probably close to thirty years ago, the memories were fresh in my mind... I found the stuff that I wrote, and Chum Gum was only a penny a pack, but had four sticks of gum, instead of five.

Ranger Steve: Zagnut... toasted to a brown coconut outer coating... mmmm, one of my favorites. So, they had them in New Jersey, too... who says that New Jdrsey is backward?

Alice... Ah yes, Walnetos and Swuirrel Nut Zippers... wasn't there a similar penny candy called Mary Janes>

Spaw... did thopse aluminum tumblers come initially as containers for cottage cheese? That's a whole 'nother subject... containers you could re-use, including the wonderful world of jelly glasses.. And yes, it wasn't until I came to New York City in 1960 that I heard pop called soda. When we'd go back to Wisconsin, my sons always got a kick out of calling soda "Pop." Your description of the ccorner store is perfect... we had one a black away from our house... wrote a verse about an alcholic who rented part of our house, who I'd go down to the corner store to get extract of vanilla... his wife caught on to him and stopped his credit at all the liquor stores, so he switched to extract of vanilla... sweetest breath in town...

"He'd send me to the corner store, with a dollar in my hand
For extract of vanilla, and never mind the brand
As long as it was alchohol, it was all the same to him
It helped to pass the time away, back in Tommy's room

I've found a list six blocks long, but I think I'll let others pick their memories... I had forgotten about Walnettos, by the way...

Jerry