In the living room, standing on top of the desk, was a large, beautiful, carnival glass candy bowl. It was never empty. We weren't allowed to touch it, but every Saturday Mom would lift it off and hold it down so we could choose a piece or two as a reward kind of thing for being good helpers.
It was something I looked forward to all week.
And then the most wonderful of things happened. A customer, intrigued by all things Amish, happened to stop in our store one day. She bought a little something, and then several days later she was back with her grandchildren so they could meet us as well.
I don't know if it was our large garden, our plain homemade clothes, or the fact that our main source of transportation was a horse and buggy, but for some reason she thought we would never have tasted candy before.
She presented each of us children with a brown paper grocery bag, filled to the brim with candy.
After she left Mom allowed us to choose a few pieces, and then the rest was tucked on the top shelf in the pantry. We could have one piece per day, and had to share a lot of it with our friends.
The lady continued to visit several times a month, always bearing things she thought we would not get to experience otherwise. Delicious cakes, cookies, jams and jellies, and always more candy.
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What a fond little memory! I don't ever recall being extra smitten with candy, but my sister is an absolute slave for them!
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Part of it was probably because it was reserved as a special treat at our house.
DeleteFor some, even knowing an Amish person is like a glimpse into another society. She sounds sweet, and I can just imagine your mom thinking "no way are they eating all that candy..."
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday!
I think my Mom was a lot less enthused about all the candy than we were!
DeleteThat is hillarious!
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteThat was a very sweet thing for that lady to do. No pun intended.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
Yes, it really was.
DeleteLove unintentional puns.
Sweet memory! Perhaps the jams and cakes were storebought and she thought it would be a treat for your mom and dad, too :-) Personally, I'd rather have an Amish family come to visit me and bring me homemade goodies!
ReplyDeleteShe used to make them all herself, and was quite pleased about it too.
DeleteShe first introduced us to pepper and mint jelly. Never did become a fan of those.
Sweet memory! Perhaps the jams and cakes were storebought and she thought it would be a treat for your mom and dad, too :-) Personally, I'd rather have an Amish family come to visit me and bring me homemade goodies!
ReplyDeleteThat was such a kind thing for that lady to do! Of course, when I think "Amish" the first thing that comes to mind is jams and jellies - and shoo-fly pie! But not candy, unless you count fudge, which is a food group unto itself.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was at boarding school, any incoming candy or chewing gum was locked in the Candy Closet. Once a day, the school nurse would unlock the closet and each of the girls got to select one piece. It seems to me that it was all put into a common pool, rather than each girl having her own candy all to herself, even over a long period. It's been a long time since I was in the fifth grade, so memory fails me. But I am still able to each just one or two pieces of candy and leave the rest for another day.
Yes, we made a lot of jams, jellies, and pie. No fudge though. We did make a variety of homemade candies.
DeleteHaving to share all the candy at boarding school...... I think I'd hope the other girls get plenty of chocolates. :)
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ReplyDeleteI was not too fond of candy when I was a little girl. It came to me when I'm older, after college.
A lot of the candy I used to like as a child, I don't any longer. Chocolates is quite another story though.
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