Remember when........ (Reading, Lebanon, Penn: buying, middle school, live)

[nativesunburyian]

Since moving away from PA I've noticed we are loosing things we took for granted growing up. I miss the hometown butcher shop, the Farmers Market. I'm sure I look pretty silly when I'm stocking up on Lebanon Bologna, Middleswarth potato chips, assorted TastyKakes. Am I the only one suffering from this?

[susquehannock]

Originally Posted by nativesunburyian

Since moving away from PA I've noticed we are loosing things we took for granted growing up. I miss the hometown butcher shop, the Farmers Market. I'm sure I look pretty silly when I'm stocking up on Lebanon Bologna, Middleswarth potato chips, assorted TastyKakes. Am I the only one suffering from this?

No you're not. I have a freind who moved to N.C. and he missed all those items. We used to send him Middleswarth and TastyKakes several times a year. We do the same for my sister in law in Vermont.

[akpls]

You're not alone. I could order TastyKakes online, but the shipping would be more than the Kakes.

[Flamingo13]

When we get back to visit (husband is from there) - he stocks up on Sweet Lebanon bologna and... ACK Cup Cheese

[SusqueHappy]

I missed Middleswarth & Gibbles chips most when I lived elsewhere. I also missed the geographical orientation that lingers around here, when people say they live behind Fang Mountain or that a new restaurant just went in on the other side of Piddle Creek.

[RSFMomma]

Eh, I couldn't care less about lebanon bologna or tastycakes (even though I could eat peanut butter candycakes until the sun doesn't shine), BUT, Middleswarth BBQ Potato Chips are seriously the most awesome chip on this planet. I don't like any other chips... and I am so sad that I can't get them anymore. When we travel back to PA next summer, I think I will be buying bulk amounts and shipping them to myself, hahah!

[North Beach Person]

Wise potato chips are unobtainable in my area of MD.

Loss of all these things isn't a PA thing. When we first moved to SoMD from NWPA in the early/mid 80's it was rural and considered back of the beyond. It also had a bunch of family owned stores where one could buy homemade whatever. Most of those are gone now, replaced by an outwarde migration of rural pioneers bringing us culture and all those other good things from Metro DC. Gourmet coffee shoppes, anyone?

[Flamingo13]

Never heard of Middleswarth chips. I did think I wanted Wise chips and picked them up, but never realized how greasy they are (to be honest, I'm not a big chip person though. I did have a problem trying to buy chipped ham (I only use it to cook up w/bbq sauce) finally figured out it's cooked ham, ask them to shave it really thin.

[Icy Tea]

We have the local farmers market and local supermarkets carry the tastykakes, bologna and potato chips in Reading. I've tried Middleswarth and while they're a good chip they don't rank above others. Goods and Gibbles would be my pick in that order.
Tastykake has slipped a little in quality and taste although they still do the best pumpkin snack pie around. I'd like to get them to do a german chocolate junior and a mince pie( no meat just the apple and raisin). They do a nasty eggnog pie and already do a french apple pie so its not too much to hope for.

[Alyx_Vance]

You know, I've had a craving for teaberry ice cream. I've been in Texas for approx. 2 1/2 years now and I've realized all the things I had taken for granted. I'm moving out of Texas this coming year and I am going to fill up on all the wonderful Pennsylvanian things. A huge bowl of teaberry ice cream sounds good.

I recall when I was in middle school/high school my grandmother would take me to a local butcher and there I would buy peanut butter chocolate wafers and some chocolate milk. Good stuff. What do we have today? Burger and Dunking Donuts, oh boy. Fast food joints, banks and parking lots as far as the eye can see! My heart breaks a little more each day. I understand things change, but that doesn't make it any less painful.