Sears was popular when I was a child. Our family shopped there frequently, although now, I can't remember exactly where our Sears was. Paramus (NJ) maybe? I think it was in a mall; and this was before malls became so popular. We ordered from their catalog and we'd go to the store to pick up our order. They had retail, too. It was a frequent family outing for us on a Friday night.
Our Sears had a candy counter. It was an old fashioned counter with a glass cabinet that sold candy by the pound. The candy was not individually wrapped or branded - you couldn't find M&Ms or Twizzler's at the candy counter. It had trays of unwrapped candy, and you told the salesperson how much you wanted. She scooped it up for you, put it in little white paper bag, and weighed it.
Mom and Dad liked to buy a treat or two when we were at Sears on the way out after all the shopping was done. Something to snack on while we waited for Mom to finish up, or on the drive home. Mom liked "Bridge Mix" and salted cashews. You don't see Bridge Mix sold much any more. For those who don't remember, Bridge Mix is an assortment of chocolate covered goodies. The mix included nougats, several kinds of nuts, raisins, caramels, and the like. Dad liked the Bridge Mix, too. In the later years, there was a new selection: "mint lentils." They were a favorite, also.
Mom liked her cashews. She would ooh and ahh over the salty toasty nuts and tell my sister and me how delicious they were. I thought they were OK but certainly not as good as peanuts to my grade-school palate. Her swooning inevitably coaxed me to try a few, and then I ended up wondering what all the fuss was about.
Bridge Mix was also OK. I liked the raisins, peanuts, and caramels, but it was an awfully big risk when choosing a piece. The pieces were thickly covered with dark or milk chocolate so it wasn't easy to tell what was inside. Each piece was roughly the same size, maybe 1/2 an inch in diameter or so. You could end up with that awful crumbly white stuff inside, or even licorice (ewww!). Mom and Dad wouldn't let us put it back! (As a grown up, I now know why....yuk). As a consolation, I would suck off the chocolate and get rid of the filling if a bad choice was made.
Once in a while, Mom or Dad would buy nonpareils for my sister and me. Those were our absolute favorites. Milk chocolate with candy sprinkles on top. Crunchy if you bit them, creamy if you sucked on them.
Today, my tastes have changed. Bridge mix is hard to be found - the only one widely available is Brachs, and they use inferior chocolate. Not worth the calories. Cashews are a delight, almost swoon-worthy to the adult me! And nonpareils are still a favorite, if the chocolate is good quality.
Sears back then (and many other larger stores) were true "department stores." They offered a wider variety of products. I guess back then, they didn't analyze the numbers as closely and trim off the low-profit and low-volume departments. There might have even been a little more room for sentiment - the boss liked the candy counter, so it stayed.
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