Sweet Treats Of The Past: Penny Candy Sale

Remember running to the "dime store" and pushing your nose up against the famous glass case that held the best candies? Where you could actually buy something delicious for a nickel or a penny?

Well, those days have returned. A penny can actually buy something tasty. Did you love sugar babies, Necco Wafers, jawbreakers and Mallo Cups? How about Mary Janes, Turkish taffy, wax lips, licorice whips or Black Jack and Clove gum?

Take a nostalgic trip back to those innocent days and buy your favorite candy for a mere penny, from the historic candy counter that is part of the display in the , 164 Hawley Street. The penny candy sale is going on during Grayslake Central High School homecoming events this weekend Sept. 16 and 17.

The old dime store ladies, like Winnie Manuel and Evie Turner among others, would wait patiently while the children carefully spent their pennies. Their purchases were put into a paper bag for a safe trip home.   

The nostalgic candy will once again be sold for a penny each today and tomorrow from noon to 4 p.m. at the Grayslake Heritage Center. There will be a limit of five. The candy will also be sold on Sept. 24 during the Grayslake High School Class of 1961 50th reunion activities.    

The old dime store, where a portion of the Last Chance saloon is now on Center Street, was owned by the Turner family from 1941 to 1973.  

The distinctive glass case, which is one of the artifacts in the museum that brings back memories of growing up in Grayslake, was made in Chicago and was probably used in Chicago before being moved to Grayslake. When the store closed, the case was in the Lou Frank Insurance office on Whitney Street. Jeann Frank donated the case to the Grayslake Historical Society in memory of her husband Louis Frank Sr.

- Information provided by the Grayslake Historical Society.