The Candy Wrapper Museum

My brothers and I weren't given allowances, so it was hard to go crazy buying candy. In fact, it really wasn't much of an issue until the first 7-11 came along. Diamond Bar was a small town back in the sixties, with only one little market in our neighborhood for a long time, and then eventually one supermarket, which helped validate North D-Bar's existence.

When the 7-11 arrived, it seemed like utter overkill... Wow! A supermarket AND a mini-mart! The rack of candy at the 7-11 was full of tempting treats.

There was the penny candy:

wax lips, candy lipstick, Pixy Stix, Ice Cubes, candy baseballs and footballs... and fun gum: Black Jack gum, Gold Rocks gum, all kinds of trading cards including Odd Rods... and then everything else: candy cigarettes, peppermint patties, Good and Plenty, Necco, Tootsie Rolls, Abba-Zabba bars, all the Mars candy bars, M&Ms, Bit-O-Honey, etc. etc. etc. ...AND it was right down the street from the club.

This inspired me and my best friend Diana (pictured here with our poodle Jolie) to walk down to the store and pick up a bagful of treats whenever and however we could. In retrospect, we ate way too much candy.

This is a photo of me doing my impression of "Dawn, Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" around the time I began the collection. For those youngsters out there, this is what a nerdy, bookish teenage girl looked like in the 70s. This was during my phase where I hated to wear shoes. If you think there's some rebel attitude implied by the slumped shoulders and the pose by the railroad tracks, click here to see my grandma posed a moment later in the same spot.

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	This explains how the Candy Wrapper Museum came to be. Home Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4	My brothers and I weren't given allowances, so it was hard to go crazy buying candy. In fact, it really wasn't much of an issue until the first 7-11 came along. Diamond Bar was a small town back in the sixties, with only one little market in our neighborhood for a long time, and then eventually one supermarket, which helped validate North D-Bar's existence. When the 7-11 arrived, it seemed like utter overkill... Wow! A supermarket AND a mini-mart! The rack of candy at the 7-11 was full of tempting treats. There was the penny candy: wax lips, candy lipstick, Pixy Stix, Ice Cubes, candy baseballs and footballs... and fun gum: Black Jack gum, Gold Rocks gum, all kinds of trading cards including Odd Rods... and then everything else: candy cigarettes, peppermint patties, Good and Plenty, Necco, Tootsie Rolls, Abba-Zabba bars, all the Mars candy bars, M&Ms, Bit-O-Honey, etc. etc. etc. ...AND it was right down the street from the club. This inspired me and my best friend Diana (pictured here with our poodle Jolie) to walk down to the store and pick up a bagful of treats whenever and however we could. In retrospect, we ate way too much candy. This is a photo of me doing my impression of "Dawn, Portrait of a Teenage Runaway" around the time I began the collection. For those youngsters out there, this is what a nerdy, bookish teenage girl looked like in the 70s. This was during my phase where I hated to wear shoes. If you think there's some rebel attitude implied by the slumped shoulders and the pose by the railroad tracks, click here to see my grandma posed a moment later in the same spot. Click here to go back Click here to read more