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You know you remember it. Everyone knew about it. Your auntie would send you there to buy her a pickle and some nowlaters (now and laters). Yes, the candy house in all its inconsistent hours of operation, non-tax paying goodness. There was no EBT back then so it was cash only and you better believe they accepted food stamps. When I was going to Emerson elementary, I remember the candy house being on the southwest corner of Chester Avenue right across the street from south park. I think there was another one on pearl but I can vaguely remember that one. No one really knew when they were open unless you saw a line of kids standing outside the house. You could always count on their rock bottom prices. You could actually walk in with a quarter and come out with a handle full of stuff.
I don’t remember there being a candy house when I lived on Cliveden. That was really just where I laid my head. All of my good friends were on Pearl by my school. I remember the candy house always being open on Friday’s only. I and my comrade Walter would get out of school and see the long line damn there wrapped around the block. We would immediately run home to get money from our grand mothers. “A buck’ll do ya.” A dollar was more than enough at the candy house. We’d meet back up and ran back to go stand in line. We’d usually go stand next to our friends ahead of us in line a la “chat n’ cut”. Yes, Larry David did not invent the “chat n’ cut”. The line did move slow because the candy house had a wide selection. They only let two kids in at a time. It was usually an adult or two waiting inside to serve you. When you got in all the candy was there for you to select from. You had to tell the adult what you wanted and they would get it for you. I’m sure this was to keep our busy little hands off their merchandise. The prices were too cheap for anyone to want to steal anyway. There was also respect for the folks who ran the candy houses. Why would you want to steal from someone who not only lived in the neighborhood but brought a little bit of happiness to it?
There was so much selection; you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself. Even though you had a dollar, you still needed to manage it well. Unless you were one of those kids whose grandparents slid them a five. Then you had no worries. They would usually come out with a brown paper bag full of stuff. Punks! Any who. You worked with whatever you had. I’d usually get myself a snicker and some nowlaters. I never really liked much else. I wasn’t really a “candy kid”.
It was always a good time for all when the candy house was open. Whether you were just buying something for yourself or taking orders from everyone in your house, all appreciated the candy house. I always respected the homeowner’s entrepanuerial spirit. I don’t know if they still have candy houses anymore. I remember there being one year ago when we moved to Gardena but it was only open one weekend. I never heard of folks in LA having candy houses. Maybe it was just a Compton thing.
