FLICKS!!

I was born in 1976, so I have a pretty good memory from say … 1980 to today. Some parts are good, some bad … and some? It’s questionable.

Anyway…

One thing I remembered, loved, and could hardly find after 1985 was a particular candy my mom and I shared.

It all began in 1980 when moved to California from Texas. I fell in love with a “treat”. This was very special as we didn’t really have candy at home. We were living with my grandma, so the treat was something “secretive” as she didn’t quite approve. Still, my mother was my mother … and she did want she wanted. As of note, I don’t think I turned out too bad.

After moving to Nevada in 1985, I no longer found this “treat”. We’d look at gas/convenience stores, grocery stores, and pharmacies. It seemed they were nowhere to be found. I thought it was exclusive to California, so on trips down there … I’d look.

NOTHING.

As the years went on, I’d sometimes think about them. I’d often ask my mom if she remembered them and what they were; she did. We’d talk about them and reminisce. It brought back a lot of good memories.

Here was my recollection of the treat:

“Ghirardelli, colored foil wrapped, tube-like, chocolate drops”

I was right. They were.

Old Ghirardelli "Flicks" wrapper picture I found on the "Candy Wrapper Museum" website

I didn’t get a computer and internet access until 2003, and I couldn’t think of what they were to see if they were around. I have found that nothing is truly gone as long as there is the internet.

Last year … I finally found a lead! I used a search engine to look up the key words: “Ghirardelli, colored foil wrapped, tube-like, chocolate drops”. Instantly found quite a few websites dedicated to the old candy.

I learned they were called “Flicks”, and I learned the fun, not-so-fun, sad, and perhaps happy history of them …

“The History of Flicks® Candy

“Flicks Candy” is a chocolate-flavored treat that has been around for over 100 years. It was originally developed by the Ghirardelli family in the late 1890’s, but wasn’t called “Flicks” until 1904. It was produced in San Francisco, California and then later in San Leandro, California up until 1989. By that time, the machinery that produced Flicks had been continually operating for nearly 100 years, it had been damaged in its move to San Leandro, and replacement parts were no longer available, as the equipment’s manufacturer had been out of business since World War II. For these reasons, production of Flicks ceased in 1989.

In 1963, William Tjerrild, son of Danish and Swiss immigrants, went to work for Nestlé’s Chocolate as a mechanical engineer and learned the art of manufacturing confections and chocolate. After Nestlé’s, William worked for various confectioners until developing his own manufacturing company that specialized in fabricating chocolate and nut processing machinery.

In 1988, William’s son, James Tjerrild came to work at the family business. Growing up in California, James loved eating Flicks at the theater, and sorely missed the product after production ceased in 1989. So, in 2004 the Tjerrild family acquired the Flicks® trademark and recipe, and produced its first cases of Flicks Candy.

In 2005, the Tjerrilds acquired the original decommissioned production equipment that had produced Flicks for nearly 100 years. The machinery was originally built in Racine, Wisconsin in the late 1890s or early 1900s. The equipment was painstakingly dismantled, relocated, and reconstructed in Fresno County (California) by the Tjerrild family’s machinery company.

Now Flicks®, Flicks Cacao®, and Non-Pareils are made on the same historical machinery, in Fresno, California.” (http://www.flickscandy.com/history.html)

Imagine … having the potential to find something from your childhood!! Would they taste the same? Would it bring back the same feelings?

So, I did some more digging on their website …

“The Original! Just like when you were a kid!

Four different colored tubes of Flicks Candy but all are filled with the same great flavor of Flicks Candy.

If you had Flicks® as a kid, this is probably what you remember! And whether your favorite color was red, yellow, green, or blue, there always seemed to be a tube at the movies just for you.

All four tube colors have the same sweet, smooth chocolaty flavor candy inside, and still are made with the same recipe (since 1904).” (http://www.flickscandy.com/flicksoriginals.html)

Yay! Now … where to find them.

I scoured the internet to soon learn the only way I could get them was through shops on Amazon or little “hole-in-the-wall” places.

Ordering candy, particularly chocolate, in the summer was a daunting task. They’d likely melt after I spend a bundle on shipping, and even when I cooled them … they’d be distorted. Also … there were some customer complaints about the chocolate being “stale” and “yucky”.

That was definitely out of the question. And, if I was spending $16-$20 for a case of 12 … I wanted my money’s worth. So … I gave up the notion of trying to get them.

About a month ago, I was at a CVS … and I found them!!

The Flicks I purchased at CVS

Unwrapping the Flicks ... same foil wrap, same cardboard tube, and same "drop" candies ...

Closer view of the "foil" wrap ...  near-identical phrasing on the wrapper

Yes, they were the FLICKS I was reading about online. So, I had to buy eight (8) tubes … two (2) of each: gold, red, green, and blue. My mother was surprised to see them, and we talked about the talks we used to have about them. And, that talk also brought back a lot of memories.

And … we remembered sitting in her car eating them all those years ago in California.

Are they the same? Honestly … I can’t remember. My mom, like me, is just glad to have them back.

The packaging is almost identical, so there’s that in their favor. There seem to be more “wafers” in the package, and the chocolate? It’s not too bad honestly. Just finding them was a real treat. Not too many places carry them, and not all of the CVS stores have them. I’m glad there is one though.

As far as the price … they’re no longer 10¢ (like they were in the 1970’s_ … now, they’re about $0.99 or $1.00. Forty (40) years later and under/about a buck? I’m not going to complain.

Am I glad to have them back? Absolutely!! Do we still eat them in the car? Not yet … at least not during the summer.

I posted a picture/link about them, and a friend was inquiring as she’d never seen them, heard about them, or had them. I doubt many have, they were (according to some) primarily in California.

If I didn’t have my trip in June … and it wasn’t getting hot … I’d say a road trip was in order just to see if they’re available in California. Not to mention it’d be nice to go back to where we were living and eat them there. It might sound silly to some, but there are times we need to stop and appreciate where we came from so we know where we’re going.

Mmm……

I wonder how December is looking for a road trip ...

FYI: Tjerrild is pronounced “Chair-Old”. They kept the similar phrasing on the packaging as well.

References:

Flicks Candy - History. (n.d.). Flicks Candy - History. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.flickscandy.com/history.html

Flicks Candy - Original Milk Chocolate. (n.d.). Flicks Candy - Original Milk Chocolate. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.flickscandy.com/flicksoriginals.html

The Candy Wrapper Museum. (n.d.). The Candy Wrapper Museum. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.candywrappermuseum.com/flicks.html