Jeeves’s Sweet Tooth Lane

I have a sweet tooth or I should say a mouth full of sweet teeth. Recently at work a discussion came up about our favorite candies and treats as we were growing up. Josh, our engineering intern had never heard of some of the candy and treats that Keva (our laboratory technician) and I were talking about. It was amazing to me that he couldn’t know the pleasure of crunching into a Chick-O-Stick or the chewy chewiness of a Mary Jane. It sparked me to share with you some of the pleasures I indulged in growing up in the 1970’s and early 1980’s in West Virginia. Many and most of my most beloved memories were of that with my Grandma Reed, she gave us our natural born sweet teeth. In her kitchen there was a drawer that ALWAYS had Hershey Miniatures in it, my two favorites that I would dig through the bag and scarf were the Special Dark Chocolates (only my Aunt Cheryl and I liked them) and Mr. Goodbar’s; which to this day is still my favorite candy bar, hands down no questions asked. Under the drawer was a two door cabinet where we grandchildren could always find Pinwheel cookies and a box of Cracker Jacks. I remember the joy of that cabinet and I’m sure the joy it brought to my sweet loving grandmother seeing her grandchildren being happy. On Saturdays the mailman, Mr. Gibson would hand out treats as he made his route delivering the mail in his Volkswagen Beetle. It was always a surprise as to what he would hand out and we watched closely for his arrival as we could see him stopping at the French’s house on that graveled road. Of course we all ran to the big red mailbox to get whatever he would be delivering to us, usually BB Bats or Super Bubble gum, I preferred the hard delicious BB Bats (imagine hard taffy on a stick) over the bubble gum, though growing up I remember plenty of times we would cram 3-4 pieces in our mouths to see who could blow the largest bubble. It was also at that house on that long front porch where in the summer of 1979 my Aunt Linda and I would sit back and enjoy an ice cold Sunkist and a Twix, the new candy bar sensation of that year. One of the most special memories I have is when we were treated to $.25 of penny candy at Casto’s Farm Store in Confidence, the only store between Liberty and Red House, a big deal for the residents of Paradise, West Virginia. Twenty-five pieces of candy was a big deal in that day and the choices were many. We also loved to indulge in Fun Dip with it’s sugary stick that licked then dipped into the tart packets of cherry and grape pixie powder. My mother and Grandma Proctor were more of the make it their selves candy makers though I do remember they would get Brach’s Pick-A-Mix, just like penny candy but more for adults and sold by the pound, my favorite of that mix was the Neapolitan coconut squares, root beer barrels and the cinnamon disks. I remember going to the IGA in Eleanor with them and being allowed to help fill up the bag. I still remember my Grandpa Proctor’s eye’s lighting up when he would pop open a bag of Circus Peanuts. There are so many things from my childhood I remember enjoying such as Marathon Bars – those long twisty chocolate covered caramel bars, Charleston Chew’s and even Sky Bars – all of which are hard to find these days, and Marathon Bars are gone forever. I still can’t stop at three or even ten Goetz’s Caramel Creams. I remember in high school the band was always selling Goo Goo Clusters, round mounds of chocolate covered marshmallow with a layer of caramel and topped with peanuts. Many days I scrounged for money to be able to have one of those delectable treats. My mother was the Queen of candy making and I loved the holidays where she would make tons of treats such as Buckeyes and Strawberry gelatin candy. After I moved to Michigan I made Buckeyes to give as gift to my family at Great Lakes Coney Island, I’ve since made them twice again and there is usually a war for them among the employees. They love the candy they just don’t like the name! until I explained that they are made to resemble the Buckeye nut and not the Buckeye team! There is a store, BA Sweetie located in Cleveland at 6770 Brookpark Road near Hopkins Airport that houses the largest candy store in the nation with over 3 million dollars in inventory and carries plenty of the nostalgic candy (a lot from my childhood). If you’re ever looking for something from your childhood that isn’t sold in stores anymore – look them up at www.sweetiescandy.com or visit their massive location that seems to grow every decade. I hope I’ve helped spark some memories of the sweet treats of your childhood. I’ve included my recipe for Buckeyes – but I’ll continue to make them for my Michigan family to bring them the joy I’ve always had from them.