A Bowl of Strawberry Candies

The discontinuation of the iconic and nearly 100-year-old Fruit Stripe Gum just recently got me poking around the internet learning that there's an entire world of nostalgic candies out there. Candies that are decades old and are not nearly as popular as they once were yet still have a cult following. It's fascinating. Although many are slowly being discontinued as the appeal does start to fade. 

I stumbled upon those Strawberry BonBon Hard Candies (the ones with the soft center) and instantly remembered that my grandmother (from my mother's side) always had a bag of them in the top drawer of her dining room cabinet. We were only allowed to have one at a time, and only on "special occasions" which I thought meant they were super expensive and hard to come by. They were each individually wrapped with a double layer of colored sheets, so they certainly felt expensive and special. Not to be gobbled down in mass quantities, like perhaps other candies. 

I loved them, partially because of the way they made me feel. Special.

As I read about the heritage of this candy, turns out they were a post-war, post-depression era treat that were in fact very special. Hence why my grandmother rationed them and kept them in a drawer. Coming out of the war and out of the depression, people were longing for things that gave them hope, made them feel positive, and signaled the coming era of prosperity. Turns out that these little Strawberry Candy gems were a symbol of that hope, positivity, and prosperity.

Love it. 

So I bought a two pound bag of these treats (not cheap mind you) and put a bowl of them on the meeting table in my office. I put them there as a sign of hope, positivity, and prosperity we are looking forward to this year after what was a tough year last year. I want colleagues who I meet with in my office to feel all of that, and to enjoy a little heritage at the same time. And to feel like they truly are special. 

Stop by! What's your experience? JIM