Does anyone still remember Liqua-4 soap? It used to come in ivory colored, soap bar shaped bottles. My parents used to buy it by the case from an elderly man that had a store on wheels and made monthly stops at all the Amish homes in our community.
We children always looked forward to hearing him pull up in front of the house and since we had to take turns accompanying Mom inside this fascinating truck filled with shelves stocked with everything we could imagine there always seemed to be a disagreement about whose turn it was.
Once inside it was much more fun looking at everything on the shelves than at the pile of things Mom purchased. She wasn't nearly as tempted with all the great options and stuck to the basic bulk foods that we used and several times a year a case of Liqua-4.
The fun we had with those empty soap bottles encouraged us children to use plenty of soap when washing our hands and as soon as a bottle became empty we washed it out and stashed it away until summer. Once it was warm enough we used those bottles for water fights. They worked better than anything else we had with their ability to squirt water farther and the ease of refilling them.
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After reading your post,I was curious as to see one of those bottles. I googled it,but couldn't find one as you described. It is a lovely memory you have of the peddler coming to your home. Made me smile! Blessings
ReplyDeleteShelley's search made me curious -- and found a 1983 consumer panel newspaper article about the product: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19830202&id=5dZOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cRMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6969,300829
ReplyDeleteNo mention about the bottle that gave children such pleasure, though. I also wondered if someone could make a living bringing this to the countryside nowadays. The thought of shopping this way makes for interesting possibilities.
I've near heard of Liqua-4, but it sounds like it made some fun childhood memories. Those are priceless!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember that soap, but I do remember the Jewel Tea man coming around the neighborhood. When few families had two cars, and most grocery stores closed at 5 or 6 (8PM on Friday!) they were very important.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in a city in the West, I had never hear of Liqua-4, or remember my parents buying anything from a "store on wheels." I learned about a part of Americana I knew nothing about by reading your blog. I do have memories of the "Fuller Brush Man" stopping by every few months when I was really small. My mom liked his products and always bought from him. I hadn't thought about that for a long time so your post brought up some pleasant memories.
ReplyDeleteSummer's coming! Do you still have an empty bottle or two? ...or three or four? :-)
ReplyDeleteI never heard of Liqua 4 .. but I do remember the Fuller Brush mans and someone selling Stanley products. Oh, and encyclopedias ... don't forget the college kids with their encyclopedias!
I used to use it. Loved it
Delete!!!
I haven't heard of Liqua-4 either, but we would use empty dish liquid containers for water fights and then writing our name on the driveway with water. That "store on wheels" sounds like FUN - I bet you all loved that time of year!
ReplyDeleteLiqua 4 was my favorite. There is a youtube video of a 1982 commercial if you want to see what the bottle looked like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvI_k9V7HOU
ReplyDeletehttp://d2ydh70d4b5xgv.cloudfront.net/images/d/7/vintage-liqua-4-soap-skin-cleansing-system-liquid-soap-5-oz-lot-of-2-nos-56897673679ac263cce92a57f73baaf9.jpg
ReplyDeleteI remember it well, don't know where my Mother got it from though. She got it for me the early 80's when it 1 st came out. I wish they would bring it back. I loved the smell of it!
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