When I was a kid, Round Up was my cigarette brand of choice. I'd go through two, even three, packs a day -- whatever my paltry allowance could buy.
Although I kicked the habit long ago, I made a special trip to Baldinger's last weekend to stock up on the sugary sticks and say goodbye to a local institution. The ramshackle market on Route 19, known for its penny candy and "Foods from all Nations," is closing its doors after 75 years.
A real estate company purchased the land and will demolish the building in June, but Pat Boylan, operator of Boylan Funeral Homes, bought the Baldinger's name and will continuing hawking confections at a new location -- a replica of the old one -- in Zelienople.
For me, the situation is bittersweet.
I'm glad I can still shop at Baldinger's, but I'll miss the original building. Its creaky wooden floors and the ka-ching of its ancient cash register provided the soundtrack to my youth.
On lazy summer days, my friends and I would pile into the back of my dad's truck and make the short pilgrimage north to Baldinger's. With loose change jangling in our pockets, we'd spread out around the store, filling our baskets with Atomic FireBalls, Lemonheads, Jawbreakers, Cow Tales, Tootsie Rolls, Smarties and Nerds. Other must-haves were wax bottles filled with fluorescent juice, paper dotted with tiny sugar buttons and pouches of Big League Chew (I really had a hankering for faux tobacco products back then).
If I had an extra dollar or two, I'd buy a Styrofoam glider, finger puppet or can of Cherokee Red cherry pop.
Dad, a connoisseur of old-fashioned treats, filled his own container with Mary Janes, Charleston Chews, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Clark's Teaberry chewing gum. Sometimes he'd sample a chocolate-covered cricket or another one of Baldinger's edible oddities, a feat of bravery that was always met with awestruck shrieks and giggles.
After 20 minutes of browsing, I'd take my overflowing basket to the counter. Manager Betty Sabo would dump my loot on a tray and sift through the pile, separating the 1-cent pieces from the 5-cent pieces, the gummi bears from the Sno-Caps, the Sour Patch Kids from the Swedish Fish.
Like a crazed mathematician, she'd tally the cost --including tax -- using only a pencil and a scrap of paper. Even when I handed her a handful of pennies and pocket lint, she'd smile and thank me for my patronage.
My most recent visit to Baldinger's was no different than my first. Aside from a few empty shelves, the place looks and smells exactly the same, which is comforting in this era of constant change. I took deep breaths as I circled the room. The scent is similar to the inside of a pumpkin pail after a bountiful trick-or-treating excursion. At Baldinger's, everyday is Halloween.
I spent $8 on penny candy --far less than the customer in front of me, who plunked down $175 and practically needed a wheelbarrow to cart her stuff to the parking lot.
As she left with her big bag of goodies, I half-expected to see a gang of Oompa-Loompas ushering her out the door while singing a moralizing song about gluttony. But, the only sound I heard was the familiar squeak of the floorboards.
The Baldinger's I know and love will inevitably come down, but, thanks to a funeral home owner with a sweet tooth, it doesn't have to die.
Baldinger's new location will be at 519 Perry Way, near the Exxon Station on Route 19 in Zelienople.