Uncanny Finds -- Sweet Christmas Memories

It's odd what things stand out in our memories.  I remember my father receiving a can of these every Christmas from his employer.  But this is no "jelly of the month club" story.  He also received chocolates, and a huge fruit basket not to mention a sizable monetary bonus. But as a kid, I was more interested in the candy.  Except for these...

The outstanding memory of these candies is how the uneaten pieces would mass together within a few weeks after Christmas in almost a protective huddle. You would go to grab a piece and this would happen.



And the candy itself seemed like some kind of throwback, even in 1979, with weird colors and flavors.

But memories what they are, after I found this can at an estate sale, I felt the desire to recreate them.  I found some similar bagged candies at a Family Dollar store and put them in the can (yes, I washed it first!)

Recently, looking through some old Christmas photos, I noticed these candies sitting on our stereo console circa 1979. See the bottom right corner.

I'm not in the photo.  I was probably off playing with some new toy I was given.  Looking around the room in the picture, I spot a few from that year:

The 12-inch Darth Vader my oldest brother gave me. I remember him telling me Darth Vader was his hero. I thought that odd at the time given he was the villain of the movie, but my brother always was a rebel...or maybe he was an Imperial agent.  Anyway, as we eventually found out, Darth does turn out the be the hero, so maybe my brother was on to something.

My Tyco Nite-Glow slot car set.  That would be the best present I received that year.  I set it up in our basement that night and played for weeks.

And remember that fruit basket I mentioned earlier?  I found that on one of our old Super 8 home movies.

I think it was the most fruit I'd ever seen in one place outside of the grocery store up to that point in my life.  But I was still more interested in the candy.