A few weeks ago, a friend dropped off a gift for my birthday. It was a bag of Turkish Delight. I have been reading the Chronicles of Narnia so I’m not sure if that is what prompted the idea for the gift. In the book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Edward is enticed to go with the wicked White Witch because she offers him Turkish Delight, which he cannot resist.
I had never tasted Turkish Delight before. It’s good… sugar-covered nougat with pistachios. My train of thought from tasting the candy was as follows: it started with the gift, to the book series I’m reading, to nougat candy, to candy stores, to Apache Plaza where my friend Diane and I would go to the Fanny Farmer candy store and buy a quarter’s worth of almond bark! What a crazy thought pattern.
I grew up in northeast Minneapolis, in a wonderful neighborhood filled with a lot of kids to play together. My two best friends lived across the street: Donna & Diane. A few blocks away, past a section of woods where we would often play, then across a couple busy streets, Apache Plaza was built, in 1961. It was the second enclosed mall in Minnesota, Southdale Center being the first.
Our moms would let us girls walk up to Apache Plaza together (neighborhoods were safer back then). I remember the layout of Apache well. We usually entered through Murphy’s Department Store. After looking at all the trinkets we’d go into the plaza and walk around. JCPenney’s was an anchor store, as was Montgomery Ward.
In addition to buying a quarter’s worth of almond bark at Fanny Farmer, we would sometimes go to the soda fountain at Woolworth’s and order a coke and French fries (I’d like to do that again!) I bought records (45’s or albums) at Musicland and spent hours in Minnesota Fabrics looking at sewing patterns and fabric. There was Brown’s Photo where our family had film developed, a pet shop we always walked around in to see the animals, and downstairs was a bowling alley. Apache Plaza was damaged by a tornado in 1984 and demolished in 2004.
The Turkish Delight was a delightful, simple gift given, that brought back such fun and crazy memories, especially a quarter’s work of almond bark!
Those were the days! Thanks for bringing back fond memories of when I was growing up in small town America.
Like I said, it was a crazy thought pattern. We never know what will trigger memories. 😉
Amazing how a simple gift sparked such memories. I just learned a whole lot more about you.
We never know what will be a trigger for memories, that’s for sure.
Sometimes it’s a bit scary to share about oneself…I hope you like what you are reading. 😉
What a sweet journey! Thanks for taking us along down your memory lane!! Turkish Delight sounds wonderful!!
Ha! – Love “sweet” journey…no pun intended…you are clever. 😉
Lol Valerie ~ I still like almond bark, just need 25 cents worth as it’s so sweet. Actually, could go for some of your mom’s peanut butter bars… those were really good, how about sharing that recipe in a blog?
That is interesting that you mention my mom’s peanut butter bars…I was reading a friend’s blog just last week (!) and she mentioned her own mother’s best ever peanut butter bars so I replied and told her about Ruby’s. Then I made some so the recipe is handy and I will send it to by email. BTW- they were yummy! with peanut butter frosting…
I am quite sure Eldy would like that recipe !
Might you also share it with me? I’m not so keen about peanut butter ; maybe I might be able to resist some of the time !
Oh, my gosh, what a walk down memory lane. It is amazing, the power of a smell, sound, a song, a photo, a Turkish Delight can take us into the past. Your memories here did that for me. I remember a store called Stampfer’s in our old downtown in Dubuque. Funny, but what I remember about that store is that it had the whitest gloves for sale there. I found them so appealing, so female, as if they were an invitation into the mystery of womanhood. As a young girl, that called to me. They had a great diner in the basement and the waitresses wore white dresses and blouses with white tie shoes. White must have been a must at Stampfer’s, I guess. Anyway, I loved to go to that diner and order a Cherry Coke and french fries. Those fries were so good! And then, of course, there was our Woolworth’s and the Penny’s there and the religious store on the corner …
It’s so fun that my memory triggered your memory…
Fun stories to share!