Boston Baked Beans return: Little red boxed of nostalgia

In a Feb. 11 article titled, “Birthday schemes and Boston Baked Beans,” I reflected on the heartfelt hunt I undertook with my 93-year-young “Mama,” Mary Lou, to locate a hard-shelled peanut candy she recalled from her Spokane childhood. It seems these treats are an explosive favorite with Spokesman-Review readers.

“I loved your story about your mom and Boston Baked Beans,” wrote Patti Berg. “I grew up in the Midwest and have fond memories of the little red boxes.”

Berg suggested Mama and I embark on a road trip together to explore an old-fashioned candy store called the Sweet Palace in Philipsburg, Montana.

“Wooden floors, containers of candies lining the walls … they also make fudge in-house,” she wrote.

Young at heart and full of pizzazz, Maxine Sullivan, of Coeur d’Alene, thanked me for “sparking a trip down memory lane” and was elated to learn Boston Baked Beans are sold at Walgreens.

However, it was the mention of my Mama’s 1978 Fiat Spider that really got her engine purring.

“My husband bought a blue one two weeks before we got married on March 15, 1968. We loved that car … gutless wonder and mechanical money pit that it was,” she wrote. “It was the cutest and most fun car EVER.”

Others simply wanted to let readers know they can satisfy that craving for classic boxes of Boston Baked Beans online at economycandy.com or amazon.com. The sweets are also available for bulk purchase at nuts.com. Bags of the candy-coated peanuts have even been spotted at North 40 Outfitters on the Newport Highway. Thanks for all of your feedback.

Cynthia Reugh can be reached at cynthia13048@gmail.com