SWEET MEMORIES

While I was in the process of Googling vintage Halloween stuff (a pathetic example of how I waste my time) I happened to come across this ancient ad for Wowe-e. It immediately ignited a burst of childhood memories.

Candy and childhood are synonymous and the Wowe-e  harmonica whistle was one of my all-time favorites. Actually, it wasn't candy at all. It was made of sweet wax that could be chewed like gum. Most kids, however, liked the whistle so much that they didn't want to ruin it by chewing the wax. The Wowe-e whistles were 5 cents - which was a little out of my price-range - but I did manage to buy a few during my recklessly indulgent wonder years.

The wax whistles were patented in the 1920's and made by Glenn Confections. The above ad is from 1948, which was before my time. I remember them from the 1960's.

The original Wowe-e whistles are no longer made, but I think reasonable facsimiles are available. When I was a kid, it wasn't Halloween without them. I still remember the distinct fluted sound of the whistle.

 These are the exact whistles that I remember

with the same Halloween labels

I was crazy about the wax novelties that always appeared at the beginning of the Halloween season. Big red wax lips, black mustaches, vampire teeth, and wax fingers. I seldom chewed the wax, but rather preferred to keep my treasures preserved in a small box in the refrigerator. Naturally, my father would inevitably throw them out. 

The height of my childhood candy career came between the ages of 8 and 11, when we lived in Pomona, California. There were two stores where we kids would always buy candy - Ted's Liquor Store and Roy's Liquor Store. Both were located on Fifth Street, the street on which I lived (Fifth Street has since been renamed Mission Boulevard).

Ted's was a small store. We went there very often solely because it was conveniently located on our way to school. Unfortunately, Ted was the meanest son-of-a-b***h in Pomona. An incredibly grouchy old man who hated children (it's bitterly ironic that I can fully relate to his feelings now).

He would grumble under his breath as we dug out our pennies to purchase candy. He also always checked our pockets and lunch boxes to make sure we weren't stealing.
When I was a child, I was so impeccably innocent and unbearably honest, that the thought of stealing never even entered my mind.

Roy's Liquor Store was twice as big as Ted's and much more child-friendly, but we only went there on weekends because it was much farther down the street. Roy's had an enormous selection of candy. And comic books.

Is it only the sweet nostalgia of my memory, or was the quality and taste of candy really better back then?

There were so many varieties of candy favorites that my faulty memory can't contain them all.

Bit-O-Honey and Good & Plenty, Sugar Daddies and Black Cows, thin Necco Wafers and jellied Chuckles. Turkish Taffy in chocolate, banana, and strawberry. Impossibly hard Jujubes. Root Beer Barrels. Hot Tamales. LifeSavers. Tootsie Rolls. Abba-Zaba. Pay Day and Clark Bars. Chunkies. Giant jawbreakers that had different layers of colors.

Black Jack chewing gum, Chiclets, Dubble Bubble and Bazooka Bubble Gum. Not to mention candy cigarettes and cinnamon-flavored toothpicks. And bubble gum cards.

I remember when a little Mexican girl in our class accidentally swallowed a cinnamon toothpick and had to be rushed to the hospital. Our teacher Mrs. Butler immediately gave us a harrowing lecture about the dangers of cinnamon toothpicks.

Returning to the wax theme, I used to like those little cartons of tiny wax bottles that contained colored sugar liquid. They are still being manufactured under various names and variations.

The present restriction of political correctness has inspired the ban of the once-popular wax six-shooters. They were pistol-shaped and (like the little wax bottles) were filled with a sweet colored liquid that you could drink.

I also recall the now obsolete and politically incorrect Nigger Babies. The startling, offensive name inspired me to do some research, but information is vague and very conflicting. They are mentioned in a 1945 issue of Confectionery & Ice Cream World, vol. 33, page 34.

Many people remember this candy but even the description varies. The original candy was supposedly made of licorice, but later the little baby-shaped candies were made of a caramel chocolate. I distinctly remember the chocolate-type ones.

My guess is that different candy companies manufactured similar black "baby" candies under various names at  different times - including Chocolate Babies and Tar Babies.

In the innocent age of my childhood the name wasn't considered offensive and we kids never thought of it as being racist. I actually thought the little babies were cute. Things are entirely different in the present era of intense racial awareness and extreme hypersensitivity. At any rate, the candy was never particularly popular.

While I'm on a roll, who could forget Pez? Let's face it, Pez candy was absolute crap but those dispensers were immensely appealing. They are still being manufactured and the old ones are collectibles.

Childhood trends come and go, but the intrigue of candy will always remain.

With sweet wishes,

Jon

P.S.

I wrote this post several years ago and figured it was time for a rerun.

Halloween candy is alarmingly expensive nowadays.

HELMS BAKERY MEMORIES

A few weeks ago I was reading My Father's Daughter - a memoir by Tina Sinatra, daughter of famed singer Frank.

I was never a Sinatra fan, but I'm  a voracious reader and will delve into anything concerning Hollywood and/or celebrities.  Tina's book is quite interesting and honestly written.

I was immediately struck by one of Tina's earliest childhood memories in Southern California: that of the Helms Bakery truck. 
I remember Helms Bakery very well, and the excitement of seeing the truck come through our neighborhood every weekday morning. 

Helms Bakery was very well-known in Southern California from 1931 until 1969 when they finally suspended business.
The unique thing about Helms was that they had no retail stores. All of their bakery items were sold by trucks, which drove to neighborhoods throughout Southern California - sort of like the ice cream man.

 Early Helms trucks

1931 truck

Paul Helms (1889 - 1957) was originally from New York, but moved with his family to California in 1926 due to health reasons. He built a bakery factory in Culver City, which opened in March, 1931, with 32 employees and 11 delivery trucks.

 Helms truck drivers

waiting to embark on morning deliveries

In 1932 Helms Bakery became the official baker for the Summer Olympics, which were held in Los Angeles. Soon afterwards, another Helms factory was built in Montebello and their truck deliveries expanded from the Los Angeles Basin to the San Gabriel Valley. The company motto was "Daily at Your Door".

 Inside the Helms Bakery factory

After Paul Helms death in 1957, his family kept the company and expanded the delivery service from the L.A. area to regions as far as Orange County and San Bernadino.

 Making deliveries

By the end of the 1960s, however, truck deliveries were becoming passe due to fierce competition from ever-expanding retail stores. The Helms Bakery concept was no longer financially viable and the business closed in 1969.

In the early 1970s the Helms L.A. factory was purchased by the Marks family. Today the area is known as the Helms Bakery District, which houses retail stores, restaurants, and a museum.

My fondest memories of Helms Bakery occurred in the 1960s, when my family lived in Pomona. We lived there nearly five years, when I was eight to eleven.

The Helms truck would come to our neighborhood every weekday, making its presence known by the distinct whistle that would go Toot-Toot! All the neighborhood ladies would run outside to buy bakery goods.

 These are the trucks I remember

At that time, Helms had the very best items that you could get anywhere - including bread, donuts, cookies, and even candy. When my Mom wasn't able to run outside, she'd give me money to get the items we needed.

Jelly donuts were always on the agenda. Nobody - and I mean nobody - ever made better jelly donuts than Helms. They were huge, generously filled with real jelly, and always warm from the oven.

I recently came across someone on the Internet who remembered that Helms jelly donuts were six cents each. I don't recall how much they were when I was a child, but when my mother gave me a dollar for a dozen donuts I always got back change.

When I was about ten years old, my father bought a used Helms Bakery truck. I don't know the year of the truck, but it was probably from the 1950s. It was painted blue, and the Helms emblems were gone, but it still had the whistle that went Toot-Toot. 

My father didn't keep the truck for very long. I suppose, for him, it was only a passing novelty.
We moved to Anaheim when I was eleven. That's when Dad sold the Helms truck and bought a brand new Ford Econoline van. 

This looks exactly like the truck my father bought, although the Helms emblem was gone and it was painted baby blue. I have a photo of Dad's truck somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look for it (and my printer/scanner isn't working).