As kids, our favorite place to go was the neighborhood corner store. Each trip was an adventure. We never knew what treasure we might find, and what awesome toys and candy we could get. They were our favorite places to go in the summer, and many of the items we bought are gone. We can, however, take a walk down memory lane to think about what we bought. These items are not things modern shoppers will ever see and experience.
Table of Contents
- 1 1. Penny Candy Cigarettes
- 2 2. Wax Bottles
- 3 3. Individual Cigarettes
- 4 4. Pixie Sticks by the Inch
- 5 5. Trading Card Gum
- 6 6. Candy Buttons on Paper
- 7 7. Malted Milk Balls in Bulk
- 8 8. Penny Matches
- 9 9. Wax Lips and Fangs
- 10 10. Kite String by the Yard
- 11 11. Soda Bottle Caps
- 12 12. Paper Dolls
- 13 13. Bubble Gum Cigars
1. Penny Candy Cigarettes
The packs of chalky white sticks with red tips looked just like real cigarettes! The best part about them was that you could “smoke” them. They looked just like real cigarettes and you could blow puff “smoke” out of them. Some even came with an end that had a little paper like a real cigarette that would flash red when you took a puff.
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2. Wax Bottles
Nik-L-Nips were tiny wax bottles filled with colored sugar water. They were awesome! You would bite off the top, drink the sweet liquid, and then chew the waxy bottle like gum. We were all eating wax, but nobody questioned it at the time.
3. Individual Cigarettes
Most corner stores had a glass jar of single cigarettes at the front counter. Kids could buy them for their parents with just a note, and nobody cared. Some stores even had regular customers’ preferred brands memorized.
4. Pixie Sticks by the Inch
The biggest pixie sticks were the best! You could buy them for a few pennies, and the store keeper would cut the paper for however many inches you could buy with your pennies. The purple ones were always worth the extra penny.
5. Trading Card Gum
You could argue that the hard, pink squares that came with baseball cards were gum. However, they could easily chip your tooth. Although the flavor lasted about 30 seconds, people still chewed it. That gum smell stuck to the cards for years.
6. Candy Buttons on Paper
The paper strips with hard candy dots were more paper than candy. Each time you ate a dot, you would inevitably consume some paper. This came as part of the experience. The strips could be shared with friends or saved for multiple days.
7. Malted Milk Balls in Bulk
They were stored in a glass containers and sold by weight using old timey scales. The store keeper would scoop the candy into paper bags and you could hear the candy pouring into the bags. This sound completed the experience. It always tasted better than the pre-packaged boxes of candy.
8. Penny Matches
Matchbooks used to cost a penny, and they were available to everyone. Some were just plain white, and others had ads from local businesses. Children collected and traded the matchbook covers like baseball cards.
9. Wax Lips and Fangs
The vampire fangs and red wax lips were technically candy. However, nobody ate them. They would wear them until they were too deformed, and then chew on them as gum until they lost their flavor. They were wrapped in clear plastic with a backing paper.
10. Kite String by the Yard
String for kites could be purchased from the large spools, with the amount measured out on a yardstick attached to the counter. You could buy exactly how much you needed for a few cents per yard. The storekeeper would often throw in an extra foot or two for tying knots.
11. Soda Bottle Caps
**Bottle Caps** Used bottle caps were sold to kids for a few pennies each. Kids would use them for games or crafts. Some stores even had bins full of them that were sorted by brand. They were great to use for games on the sidewalk, or to make jewelry and other decorations.
12. Paper Dolls
**Paper Dolls** Kids could slowly build their collections of paper dolls with individual doll sheets and clothing sold separately. The dolls were made of thick cardboard, whereas the clothing was made from thinner paper with little tabs that could be folded over.
13. Bubble Gum Cigars
**Bubble Gum** These giant sticks of bubble gum were popular to give out when someone had a new baby in the family. The packaging was designed to look like a cigar band. They also had variants for boy and girl babies with blue and pink wrappers.
