Cherry Mash, an Old Midwestern Candy Bar

Does anyone remember Cherry Mash? It's an old candy bar made in St Joseph MO for nearly a century but for a while they were made in Chicago. At Galco's Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles I picked up a Cherry Mash bar because it sounded familiar but on further reflection I don't think I ever ate one. Here's a small section of Galco's candy department (Cherry Mash is at the right).



Here's a nice Wall Street Journal article, Remembrance of Candy Bars Past by Steve Almond that discusses Cherry Mash and other old-time regional candies.

Rene G wrote:Does anyone remember Cherry Mash? It's an old candy bar made in St Joseph MO for nearly a century but for a while they were made in Chicago. At Galco's Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles I picked up a Cherry Mash bar because it sounded familiar but on further reflection I don't think I ever ate one. Here's a small section of Galco's candy department (Cherry Mash is at the right).



Here's a nice Wall Street Journal article, Remembrance of Candy Bars Past by Steve Almond that discusses Cherry Mash and other old-time regional candies.

I bought one approximately ten years ago after Easter Mass in Marfa, TX. It is a pretty good candy bar that I never had in the past. My wife rolled her eyes but really enjoyed it.

By the way, since you travel through the Midwest, on your next trip to Cleveland, stop at B.A. Sweeties. The proprietor wither has every candy produced in the US or can find it. Forget his mail order service.

B A Sweetie Candy Co
www.sweetiescandy.com
7480 Brookpark Road
Cleveland, OH 44129-1104
(216) 739-2244

Open Weekdays 8am-6pm; Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 11am-3pm

Mrs. Roadhouse was born and raised in St. Joseph in the shadow of the Cherry Mash factory. She remembers them as a sickeningly sweet confection that made your teeth stand on edge. I tried one once on a visit back to the in-laws and can concur on the Cherry Mash's wince inducing sweetness.

Buddy

I'm with Buddy on this. They can still be found from time-to-time in KC, so, of course, Geo just *has* to try one. Ouf. So sweet my ears ring.

Found something the other day that I hadn't seen for a looonnnggg time:




Just as chalky and flavorless as I remembered; still, it was fun sucking on the first two or three.

Maybe the treats of one's childhood aren't quite as fab as one remembers them!

Geo
PS. Can you guess what banal meaning of "necco" is?

PS. Can you guess what banal meaning of "necco" is?

Having spent a fair amount of time in the Boston/Cambridge/Somerville area, I will disqualify myself from answering this.

Geo wrote:Found something the other day that I hadn't seen for a looonnnggg time:




Just as chalky and flavorless as I remembered; still, it was fun sucking on the first two or three.

I hear they used to work pretty well as quarter slugs in Coke machines. I'll say no more.

Oh man, there are Abba Zaba candy bars in that picture. Those were the candies my dad would get to prevent us kids from eating the stash prior to Halloween - yes, a candy so foul even our rampant sweet teeth rejected it.

I recently bought a Cherry Mash at Candyality.

Candyality
3425 North Southport Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 472-7800

Geo wrote:PS. Can you guess what banal meaning of "necco" is?

New England Candy Company, isn't it?
Can't say I miss 'em. Happy enough to find the occasional Zagnut.

JoelF wrote:

Geo wrote:PS. Can you guess what banal meaning of "necco" is?

New England Candy Company, isn't it?
Can't say I miss 'em. Happy enough to find the occasional Zagnut.

Close, it's Confectionery. A few years ago I drove right by their factory which is just north of Logan Airport in Revere, MA on my way to Portland, ME.

Fujisan gets the prize! Altho', JoelF came pretty close.

I went back an looked more closely at the pic above--and what to my wondering eyes should appear but Big Hunk! Now there's something to rouse the ol' hippocampus! I used to just love those sticky things.

Geo

Geo wrote:Fujisan gets the prize! Altho', JoelF came pretty close.

I went back an looked more closely at the pic above--and what to my wondering eyes should appear but Big Hunk! Now there's something to rouse the ol' hippocampus! I used to just love those sticky things.

Geo

Big Hunk is made by Annabelle, which also makes Abba Zabas. How they got it so right one time and so wrong another is just mind-boggling.

(Sorry for banging on about the Abba Zabas, but I was really traumatized by them as a child.)

m'th'su wrote:I recently bought a Cherry Mash at Candyality.

Did you try it? I haven't opened mine yet and probably won't. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of love for the Cherry Mash here. I was hoping to find someone who liked them as a kid so I could give them mine.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:(Sorry for banging on about the Abba Zabas, but I was really traumatized by them as a child.)

That's quite all right. You're almost making me regret not picking up an Abba Zaba so I could try one myself.

Here's another shot of Galco's candy department, including the infamous Idaho Spud. Maybe it will bring back some awful childhood memories for someone else.

Out in the NW suburbs, America's Market can usually be counted on to have all that stuff. Do call first if there's something specific you want, but I find walking through is like the proverbial trip down memory lane -- Necco wafers, Charleston Chew, GooGoo Clusters, Gold Rush Bubble Gum, those candy dots on paper, Black Jack chewing gum, Choward's Violet Candies, and loads more.

America's Market
9 Huntington Lane
Wheeling, IL 60090

Store Hours:
10:00a.m. to 6:00p.m. Mon. - Fri.
10:00am - 4:00pm Sat.