Remember Bazooka Bobble Gum, with a comic inside the wrapper for each piece? How about Tootsie Pops, with that chocolate center? There were those Red Hots, those big red balls that grew hotter as you sucked them. We loved licorice twists, Milky Ways, Hershey bars, Tootsie Rolls…and maybe Necco wafers. And remember Milk Duds! Of course at this time of the year, there were jelly beans, chocolate eggs, and bunnies. No wonder I had so many cavities as a kid!
Some of these candies are still around fifty years later. And some enterprises are bringing them back–probably for the boomers who loved them as a kid. The picture above was taken at the counter of a local family restaurant.
Many of us bought at least some of our candy at local mom and pop stores, often tucked into our neighborhoods. My wife and her friends would stop at Curry’s Pharmacy. We’d go to Mrs. Borey’s on Oakwood, just up the hill from Washington. Many of us walked past, and some like me, detoured. I can’t recall that Mrs. Borey sold anything other than candy, and maybe popsicles and ice cream bars, It was literally a store front in a residential home, where I presume someone lived. I recall hearing that the apartments next to Washington School had a store on the first floor at one time.
Further up Oakwood, across from Borts Field was Zitello’s. It was on my way home from West Junior High, so I would sometimes stop for chips, or maybe a Slim Jim. But they really did business during baseball games in the summer. Between innings, we’d run across the street and get a pop and your favorite snack.
If I was hanging out with friends during the summer, we’d often run down to “Pop’s” on Mahoning Avenue near Lakeview for our bubblegum and Red Hots or a candy bar. “Pop’s” was actually a grocery, so sometimes, particularly before Sparkle opened up the street, we’d be there to pick up some bread or something else mom needed–and get a snack on the side with the change.
This was a part of a culture of local businesses within walking distance for many of us. This is something I don’t know much about beyond my own part of the West side, and perhaps part of our vanishing local history. I’d love to hear if there were penny candy stores you used to go to at which you got your candy “fix” as a kid? Where were these stores and what happened to them?
To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!
Helen’s Party Shop – south side, corner of Hillman & St. Louis Ave.
Thanks!
Erie Street Market on the South Side – but we all called it Ruby’s. Ruby ran it and was kind to all the kids hovering at the candy counter making momentous decisions about how to spend those precious pennies!
Thanks! Great memories!
Great memories! Thanks!
Yes, I grew in The Kimmel Brooks where we had LIBBY’s at the bottom of the hill on Albert Street. You could literally take a dollar and have candy, cookies, and pop “soda” for the whole weekend. Thanks for your article, it brought back some great memories! Vince Wright, St Augustine, Florida!
I remember playing baseball in the morning at Borts, I remember rushing home for lunch, grabbing swimsuits and towels and heading back to Borts to swim. Afterward, it was nearly always straight to Zitello’s. Once in a while we’d hold off our cravings long enough for a Dairy Mart cone at Mahoning and Hartford(?).
Yep!
Westside. Annie Kaisers on Salt Springs Rd., near Vestal Rd. was in walking distance. She lived upstairs. You put your pennies (or coin) on the counter and she’d let one kid at a time go behind the counter to pick out their candy. You put your candy on the counter and walked to the front where she would bag it in to a small brown paper bag. Lots of 1 cent candy choices, even candy cigarettes and fake teeth with some sort of gross flavored sugar water in it! Candy bars were 5 cents. I remember a rotating rack of comic books squeezed in that cost 12 cents. She also sold a limited selection of groceries, but I wasn’t there for that!
Thanks for sharing her story.
Ann’s – about a half mile north of downtown. Elm street, I believe, just above the northeast corner of Wick Park. My first feelings of ‘having money’ and being able to buy things, or of not having money. My brothers and I – all in our 60s now – still mention Ann’s once in a while.
I remember packs of gum that averaged out to less than a penny per stick. Then it was 5¢ for 5 sticks. Later, 10¢ for 7 sticks… Now it’s 10¢ – 20¢ for one stick…
Great memories. Thanks!
Elsie’s on the corner of Parkview and Glenwood. Not sure what the real name of the store was as it was a used clothing store with a penny candy counter. Search for bottles behind Ben’s Appliance Store, cash them in at Islay’s and off to Elsie’s for a sugar rush.
Great memory. Thanks!
Elsie’s was on Glenwood near the Fosterville playground, correct? I remember it well. My grandparents lived on Princeton Ave. and we played there often.
Johnson’s store on the corner of Overland Avenue and Breaden Street, Southside. It was run by Mrs. Emily Johnson, her daughter Jennie and son-in-law Sandy. Lots of penny candy and bottles of pop from the cooler. Jennie would occasionally “sneak” some candy into our hands for free!
Excellent! Thanks!
I think the name of the candy store on Portland that was next to Washington Elementary School was Jessie’s. I lived on Portland across the street from the candy store in 1950-1952 and used to go there wishing I could afford one of each. I remember the fake cigarettes, red “money”, and the fireballs. I also remember going swimming at Bort’s swimming pool and then going to Zitello’s for candy.
Bill Z
Browns Drug store, Southern and Willow, also the store near my grandmothers on Glenwood, between West Earle and West Dewey
Thanks!
Taste n’ Tell Bakery in the Wedgewood Plaza had an amazing penny candy counter. I especially remember the red shoestring licorice. 2 Bazooka Joe’s for a penny. If you found a nickel or a dime, you went straight for the penny candy counter.
Both Borey’s & Zitello’s. Now Sweeties – only 2 in country, here in AZ, and Brookpark Rd in Cleveland ie candy warehouses.
Mr. W.L. Brush’s on Fifth street in Struthers. If I recall correctly he did sell all kinds of things- hardware, milk, ice cream, etc. It was a small place, and the only store around, unless you walked much farther to the Isaly’s store. It lasted until the Struthers Plaza opened with a grocery store.
Bob,
I lived off Salt Springs Rd in the shadow of US Steel Ohio Works as a kid. We were blessed with three neighborhood stores with penny candy. They were Kravic’s, Elborn Market and Cherol’s Market.
Remember these places, especially Cherol’s!
Spent many days at Currys drug store buying candy. Isaly’s was next door as well. Great memories for sure. Another was Dorko’s Corner store on Powersway by Petrillo’s pizza. That whole are was a great place to grow up so much to do .
I am heartened to see one who is preserving the American history of how great it was to grow up in mid-century Youngstown. What prompted me to look this site up was the news of Micheal Rulli winning the recent election for Representative. That caused to wonder if (almost certain) he was part of the Rulli Grocery gang. Sure enough was! I read the Rulli history on thier website but wanted more. That when I saw your thread on Youngstown history. in the 40s and early 50s Iived midway up Early Road just two houses away from the Rulli families. We youngsters had kinda a love hate competition with the Rullis. We being of Hungarian origin and them Italians. But we still had fun together playing cops and robbers through Jackson Hollow. Frequently we were called upon several nights each week to go to the Rullie barn and on the lower level we the days stacks of green onions, green beans, corn and other such truck farm goodie. We kids were responsible for grabbing a handfull of onion and wrapping a rubber band around it ready for market the next day. We would be there for about 2-3 hours 2-3 nights a week helping the Rullis to be successful. We knew what that meant because our grandfather, Joe Matasy from Hungary, trod the same path as the the early Rullis. Joe had a truck garden just up the street from Rullis in the first half of the 20th century. But Joe and hist wife Mary had PLENTY of help for there were, i believe, 4 boys and 3 girls to help with the garden. But more to the point of you recent Candy Store artcle. We had one on Early Road at Nair street. Was formerly a gas station. But then turned candy/gorcery storye. The lady who ran it was Rosie Narone. On the way home from Lincoln Park pool during the summer we would stop adn get a handful of jaw breakers and an equivalent amount of cinnamon balls for 10 cents, YUM. Yes and lots to cavaties too which effects can still be detected by a forensic dentist! Thank you for your history contribution. George (Matasy) Ballantyne, Fort Myeres Beach