CANDIES: Oh Henry, 5th Avenue, Mounds, Almond Joy, Hershey
CEREALS: Total, Special K, Fruit Loops, Cheerios, Shredded Wheat
DETERGENTS: Tide, Ultra, Bold, Shout, Cheer
PAPER: Charmin, White Cloud, Puffs, Brawny, Glad
The charmin' Miss Katherine Amanda Hershey shouted, "Oh, Henry", as she entered the front door of the old white house on 5th Avenue in which lived the brawny Henry Augustine Bradford. K, the name with which Katherine was most identified and addressed, was one of Henry's closest friends. They had known each other since childhood. Henry considered K the ultra friend; she was always there for him and supported him no matter what, whether the tide was in or out. Although Henry was a bit eccentric, considered by many to be a bit of a fruit loop, K understood him and cherished their friendship.
Like his father and grandfather before him, Henry shredded wheat for a living and was bold and aggressive in his business ventures. The total dedication of the Bradford family was the foundation on which their business was built and today, under Henry's direction, continues to grow and prosper.
"Cheerios!", yelled Henry as he entered the enclosed porch where K had gone to wait for him. He was followed by the housekeeper, Joy, who had worked for the Bradford family since Henry was just an infant. "I am so glad to see you!", smiled Henry as he watched Joy place a tray of coffee and cream puffs on the white wicker table in front of K's seat. "I have mounds of news to tell you!", said Henry, "but first, you have to try Joy's latest baking specialty." K bit into the puff, "This is delicious; what is that flavor, is it almond, Joy?" "That is a family secret!", laughed Joy. "A cheer to you who are so special, K", smiled Henry as he raised his coffee mug. You brighten my day - not even a white cloud hides the sunshine you bring. Now, for my news ...."
I would wake up every year on that special day, with JOY in my heart. We would start out very early. We had to catch the train at the 5th AVENUE station. One hour later when we arrived at the Coney Island station, we had to climb MOUNDS of stairs. It was worth it, for when we came out of the station, we looked out at the BRAWNY sea, and when we looked up, the sky looked like PUFFS of marshmallows.. They looked so close, I felt I could reach up and grab hold of a WHITE CLOUD.
Okay, what to do first, there were all the rides. We always headed for the parachute first, that was considered the ULTRA experience. Next we went on the Cyclone, I would always SHOUT as we descended the first hill.
After all the rides we would always look for the old woman who was a fortune teller, everyone called her Miss K. Charmin was afraid of her, but not me, I thought she was very kind. She would always give me a handful of almonds to eat. To this day whenever I eat an almond I associate it with joy. My feelings are always Almond/Joy. When Miss K read my hand, she always said she saw wonderful things in my future. Once she told me that I would meet a wonderful group of women one day. She said, WOW, are you lucky. We danced off, as we yelled
CHERRIO, and she replied CHERRIO in kind. I can still hear our CHERRIOS in the distance. (Years later when we went back, our SPECIAL K was no longer there. Boy, do I miss the Almond Joy.)
Next on our list would be the petting zoo. Being from the city I never got a chance to see many animals. I had no idea what farm animals were fed. Would you believe it, there was an old man who was feeding SHREDDED WHEAT to the pigs. We watched in TOTAL delight as he fed the animals. We spoke to the old man, and he told us his name was Jack HERSHEY, and he was from HERSHEY Pennsylvania. Whenever I see small farm animals, I always think of Mr. Hershey.
We ate cotton candy and ice cream and so much of what my mother called junk food, that she always insisted that we have something substantial to eat. Our favorite place was the CLARK BAR, where the food was always GOOD AND PLENTY.
With our stomachs full we would sit on the beach, and watch the TIDE come in. As the sun set, we watched the fire works, everyone would CHEER as the fireworks became more spectacular.
As we headed for home, we were tired and spent, but GLAD that we got to spend another birthday at Coney Island.
There were some Indian tribes in our area. I'd take the boat out when the tide was right, and shout for my friend little White Cloud. We watched puffs of smoke coming from another tribe. He knew it was from his cousin, Almond Joy; he was half-Indian and half-Chinese. Almond Joy was ultra big and brawny, and bold as can be. We were glad he was not our enemy.
There was an English family in our area. Whenever we walked by they would call, "Cheerio"; never heard so many cheerios. They also played a game called fruit loops. They took shredded wheat, wet it and made it into balls. They would scoop out very large melons, slice them into loops and throw the balls through them. I remember it well! They would call, "Oh Henry, Oh White Cloud, come play". We need a total of six to play Ultra Fruit Loops. We had so much fun.
When I moved to the city and found an apartment on 5th Avenue, I missed those happy times with lots of fun and plenty to eat. Yes, life was good & plenty in Hershey….