My Pease's Confession

As a young boy living on what then was the southwest side of Springfield, Illinois. I had the good fortune of attending Blessed Sacrament School. Blessed Sacrament is a Catholic elementary school located at the corner of Glenwood & Laurel.

I grew up several blocks west of Blessed Sacrament on the west side of Macarthur Blvd., in Leland Grove.

It seemed my parents had chosen well; A nice safe neighborhood, with a church, and elementary school close enough for their children to walk to. Things were getting off to a good start. Or so my parents believed.

On my daily walks to, and from, Blessed Sacrament I immediately encountered temptation, for my path took me past the Pease's candy store.

I found the allure of the pleaure dome, which was Pease's, simply too great to pass up. I broke like a young sapling twisted by a great storm.

The charm of Pease's began the moment that I laid my innocent eyes upon the little store. An unassuming anchor to the neighborhood of which it is a part. What kind of people live there I wondered. Bathed within the warm pink neon glow of the Pease's sign, I knew that I was welcome within. The sweet smell of freshly made carmel covered popcorn tippy toed to the nearby sidewalk upon which I was standing. Brown sugar sweetness rushed toward me, wrapped its arms about me, and asked me softly to enter. What was a small boy to do?

Was this a sin I asked, the words barely audible.

No, it just couldn't be, it just felt too good! Heaven could wait, but Pease's Fine Candies, and Salted Nuts was an earthly pleasure I could no longer delay.

I soon found my way within the store, and taking one look around me I knew that by entering I must surely have committed a venial sin, and that with each passing moment I would spend yet another day in Purgatory.

Was not Man's fall from grace brought on by the temptation of the candy apple?

Tempation knew no bounds. Candies neatly arranged into visually vibrating rows of peculiar shaded pinks, oranges, yellows, greens, reds, and blues. Each promising a sinfully unique flavor experience. Hard candy, chewey candy, candy that melts in your hands, candy that drips down your chin.

Thus began my life of sin.

Forgive me, for I confess that my sins included the following pleasures; Almond Joy, Baby Ruth, Bazooka Bubble Gum, Bit-O-Honey, Boston Baked Beans, Butterfingers, Candy Apples, Caramel Squares, Chuckles, Clark Bars, Goobers, Good & Plenty, Hershey Chocolate Bars, Hershey Kisses, Jaw Breakers, Jujubes, Jujyfruits, Junior Mints, Lemonheads, Licorice, Life Savers, Ice Cream Cones, Milk Duds, Mounds, Wax Syrup Bottles, Oh Henry Bars, Orange Slices, Pay Day Bars, Pez, Pop Corn Balls, Red Hots, Root Beer Barrels, Salt Water Taffy, Slo Pokes, Sugar Baby, Sugar Daddy, Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Rolls, Wax Fangs, Wax Lips, Whoppers, Zagnut Bars, and Zero Bars.

Many obtained for a single penny with my lunch milk money no less!

I have heard of others who have fallen to temptations of drink, gambling, and the like, but somehow I managed to fight off all of these - not always successfully, I might add, but that's another story. Yet, Pease's charm has managed to seduce me, to bring me back time, and again to enjoy the forbidden pleasures of their sweets.

Let's see, that would be: three Hail Marys, three Our Fathers, and three Acts of Contritions.

Note: Thanks to OldTimeCandy.Com for the list (which I edited) of 50's, and 60's candies.

Also, to my consternation I discovered that it is against the policy of Pease's to allow photographs to be taken inside the store. Odd considering that each of their other stores has a huge plate glass window to allow unobstructed views to the goodies within. In fact the newest Pease's downtown has a huge window which allows passerbys to view the actual making of their candies - including an illustration on how the machines work.