My Year in Collecting: 2015!

As I have for the past six years, today I will be taking a look back at the past twelve months of my hobby life, bringing together some of my favorite additions to the CollectingCandy.com archives.  So make the jump to take a look at the 2015 edition of “My Year in Collecting”!

Bringing these visual collages together is a fun opportunity to look back on this particular subject matter and passion but they also prompt a deeper reflection.  So as I work on this piece, I consider the ups and downs of life, loved ones lost, new friendships forged, and the larger passage of time.  And while this post could be considered merely a congress of colorful paper from our past, I’d like to think it is an opportunity to not only remember that which is behind us, but more importantly a prompt to celebrate and enjoy all that is around us now – right this very minute.

So without further ado, here it is, a look back on my year in collecting:

My Year in Collecting: 2015

Lots of wonderful colorful pieces in this year’s post.  Many of which I’ve not previously published before.  They run the gamut of items that I’ve been hunting for nearly my whole life to things I didn’t even know about before this last year.   I’d like to highlight just a few now.

First up is a piece that came to me after my post on the untold, pre-Hershey history of the USA Kit Kat.  When I wrote that piece, I had yet to track down an example of the very earliest version of Kit Kat wrapper produced after Hershey had picked up the license to distribute the brand.  But then just a few months later, I got this next piece.  It is nearly identical to the Kit Kat wrappers that would follow it, yet this one came out before UPC codes, and includes a line of text stating that, at this point in time, the bars were manufactured by Rowntree-Mackintosh for Hershey in the UK.  Because of its historical significance and importance to the timeline I have been putting together over the years, this wrapper was especially exciting:

Hershey Foods – Under License from Rowntree-Mackintosh – Kit Kat – 1.5 oz chocolate candy bar wrapper – 1970-1973

Next up is a non-candy item that I’ve been wondering about most of my life.  You see, it was early on during my grade school years in the 1970’s, first or second grade.  A teacher brought in a treat for the class – a package of cookies that were made with each having a “monster bite” already taken out of them.  As a kid, I thought they were the coolest cookies to ever be produced, and when I arrived home that afternoon, I harassed my mother to “find some monster cookies”.  She would end up going to several local grocery stores but never finding the cookies in question.

So over the decades, I wondered about those old monster cookies (I would discover their name in the ensuing years – Monster Chomps).  There were no photos online or images of the packaging, but finally after many years of hunting I found a package and I was lucky to be able to add it to my collection.  Here is the first full online image of a Monster Chomps cookie package:

Barbara Dee – Monster Chomps Iced Oatmeal ‘n Raisin – cookie bag packaging – 1970’s

That’s an oatmeal/raisin flavor Monster Chomps – unlikely the version I loved as a kid.  So, my quest isn’t over – I still need to find those other flavor packages!

Next up is a piece that was only released within 2015, but one that I immediately became enamored with.  It was a UK-only M&M’s package with a special USA-related promotion.   When I heard about it and saw photos online, I set my UK friends on the task of trying to find one, but after many trips to their stores they came up empty.  So, in a bit of desperation, I called upon social media and posted a want ad of sorts to my Instagram account.   A few weeks later, a friendly UK candy enthusiast answered my plea and soon after that, I had the sought-after pack in my hands.  Here it is:

UK – Mars – M&M’s chocolate – limited edition – Trip to the USA – candy package – Summer 2015

Next up is a piece that I’d been seeking for many years.  The reason being is that this package hearkens back to one of my favorite childhood memories – that being my grandmother’s house, and her habit of preparing Jell-O Tapioca pudding.  I had hunted for this particular box for about a decade – the exact style she kept stocked in her cupboard – and finally one surfaced last year.

General Foods – Jell-O Americana Tapioca Pudding Vanilla mix – 3 1/4oz mix package box – 1976

Finally, one last piece I wanted to highlight is a roll wrapper for the late 1970’s version of Tootsie Pop Drops – a childhood favorite of mine, and a wrapper that eluded me until I finally acquired one six months ago.  It’s a beauty.

Tootsie Roll Industries – Tootsie Pop Drops Assorted Flavors – 1 2/3 oz candy roll wrapper – 1978

That’s all of the items I wanted to especially point out, but every one of the items in today’s college are highlights of their own – all special pieces that I have been thrilled to add to my collection in the past year.

Next up, as is my year-roundup tradition, I will share each of the previous years’ graphical collages.

My Year in Collecting 2014

2013 – My Year in Collecting 2013

My Year in Collecting 2012

My Year in Collecting 2011

My Year in Collecting 2010

My Year in Collecting 2009

And that goes all the way back to the first year I put together my “Year in Collecting” graphic.  It’s always fun to look back on the previous year, look forward to the next one, and make sure to enjoy where I am right this very minute.

Hope you enjoyed this year’s edition, and I’ll see you next time!