By Sharon Oliver
Contributing Writer
REGION – What was conceived by the F. W. Woolworth Company in 1879 grew into a sweet tooth delight that continues to exist today. The penny candy. Following Woolworth’s lead, small candy shops and general stores also began selling individually wrapped pieces of candy at ridiculously low prices. However, more people could probably recall their neighborhood mom and pop candy store with its barrels, cases and large glass or plastic containers stuffed with bright candies, or those large mouthwatering Jack’s cookies. Oftentimes, these treats did not survive long enough to be packed inside a child’s metal lunchbox for school the next day.
Woolworth’s theory as told to The Saturday Evening Post: “I don’t pretend to know much about the candy business, but, in my opinion, if you want to make a big success of candy, put it in brass trays and put it up near the door, so that people can be reminded of it as they are passing out and take some home to the children.”
Mom and pop candy stores
Entrepreneurs took note of the concept, and opened neighborhood mom and pop shops, which were often housed in some attachment to the home and started selling candy necklaces, Smarties, Bit-O-Honey, Pixie Stix, Bazooka bubble gum and other sweets. Their heyday was from the 1940s to the 1960s. Unfortunately, most of these shops are long gone largely due to zoning laws. Kids today will never know the excitement of running home with brown paper bags filled with colorful, edible confections from the corner store.
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Massachusetts has its fair share of stores that have tapped into the nostalgia. The 1856 General Store in Centerville is one example. Aside from a large selection of candies, the store also sells candles, jams and relishes, old-fashioned toys, along with Cape Shore soaps and home fragrances and other trinkets. Kandy Korner in Hyannis is known for their homemade taffies. The Penny Candy Store in Sharon has an impressive selection of old-fashioned candies.
Acton native and Hollywood star Steve Carell got in on the niche in 2008 when a longtime neighborhood general store in Marshfield went up for sale. Carell and his wife Nancy bought the Marshfield Hills General Store which is often frequented by Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler. In a 2020 interview with The Things, Carell said: “I grew up in Acton, and there was a general store in Sutton that we always went to. It went out of business, as many of them do, and I just wanted to keep this operating as a general store.”
Childhood memories
Surely a short trip down memory lane will stir up recollections of various neighborhood penny candy stores along with their friendly owners. These mom-and-pop shops were more than a place to buy sweets. They were the center of a child’s universe where jars and bins were stocked to the brim with treasures. It was a thriving family-owned small business. Today, the cost of these candies is no longer a penny and can be purchased in bulk online.
Unlike some of the larger brick and mortar candy stores, which can seem overwhelming, the neighborhood candy shop represented a simpler time where kids could safely go to on their own and had a neighbor-like relationship with the store’s proprietor. In a way, they were an economic lesson, teaching kids to set aside part of their allowance for a bag of goodies like wax bottles with colored sugar water and maybe a comic book as well. It sometimes served as a community space where adults would gather and hold a conversation with the owner.
Next to chasing down the ice truck, the corner candy store is a top favorite childhood memory for many people.
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