Grugger’s Way

The Cracker Jack Prize…is a piece of cardboard?

I remember the Cracker Jack boxes of my youth.  Popcorn, with peanuts, covered in some kind of molasses, caramel-like stuff, and absolutely delicious!  It was the “snack” that we preferred over all others.  And it came with a surprise “toy” inside.  The toy was always all the way at the bottom.  Once I had access to knives in the kitchen it wasn’t long until I learned to simply “open at the bottom end.”

The Cracker Jack “toy” was what made this snack special to little kids.  Heck, Mom could make popcorn, and even caramel-coat it like she did at Halloween to make “popcorn balls.”  Do you remember those?  Wow.  I haven’t had a popcorn ball in YEARS!

I remember the old “take me out to the ballgame” song, with “buy me some  peanuts and Cracker Jack ” line.  That made us think we were really cool…eating Cracker Jack like at the ballgame.

The box has changed designed over the years, and the company ownership too. Frito-lay is the current owner. The white box was the first design. I notice that the sailor and his dog became less prominently displayed over time.

I don’t remember exactly when the Cracker Jack box with the picture of Sailor Jack and his dog, (”Bingo was his name-o”) got to be so chintzy with the prize.  The “toy” inside became something made out of cardboard, often just a little square with a picture on it, which would change positions or move like magic when one tilted it just a certain way.  Big deal, I thought then (and now).  We just found something else to get our parents or uncles and aunts to buy at the store.

Cracker Jack became old hat.  Old sailor hat, I guess.

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