The locked candy was kept on the bottom left side.
My Dad loved to eat candy. He absolutely had a sweet tooth. And he could not stop once he got started! The only way my mother could stop him was to keep the candy locked up in the breakfront/curio cabinet in the dining room. The key, which was beautiful and ornate, was kept it hidden from him.
To be honest, I think my brother and I knew where the key was from an early age. But we also knew not to take it or to eat the candy. Mom had a strong knowledge of what was in the cabinet. She had been keeping a strict eye on Dad and the candy ever since she had a mah jong game at our home, inviting four friends over to play, and when she went to put out the treats, almost all the candy was gone. She was so annoyed that she started locking up the candy in the bottom part of the breakfront, where you could not see what was inside.
Baked goods were not a problem. Our grandfather was a baker, so there was often cakes and bread in the house. It was delicious and kept us filled with delights. But I guess for my Dad it was not enough. Candy was his downfall. Thus, my Mom rarely purchased any and when she did, she locked it away.
The locked candy worked for us as well, especially when our home was robbed. There was a rash of robberies in North Bergen that year along the Boulevard East corridor. The police had even put notices on the front doors of homes in the area. We had been fine. We really thought no one would enter our house, because our elderly landlady, who lived on the second floor, was often home. But eventually the thieves came to our home.
My brother and I were students at North Bergen High School at the time. Luckily, he arrived home before me and found the giant mess. The police thought he interrupted the thieves as our stereo and television were left hanging, actually hanging from their wires.. The police also thought the thieves went out one door while my brother came in the other. My parents were less concerned about the burglary because the police were so happy that my brother was safe. They felt we were lucky that my brother was not injured! This left quite an impression on us. We were careful about opening the door and entering the house for years!
But the burglary was intense! The thieves trampled through our home. Searching through everything. Emptying out the closets and the drawers. It was a disaster and took quite awhile to put back into order! For me the idea that someone had rummaged through my clothes, my underwear, horrified me. I had to wash everything before I would wear it again. What bothered me the most however, is that they stole my moon landing necklace. I had a lovely round silver disc that showed Tranquility Base and spot where the lunar lander had settled, which my Dad bought me in 1969. It was one of my prized possessions. I only wish I had worn it to school that day in 1970, the spring of my sophomore year of high school.
My parents’ closet and dressers were totally emptied. It was an enlightening moment for my younger sister. In 1963, at the World’s Fair, my parents had purchased a 45 record of “It’s A Small World After All” for her. My sister listened to it constantly. Finally, my Mom could not take it anymore. She hid the record in the closet and told my sister she accidentally broke it when she was cleaning. Imagine my sister’s surprise when she spied the record, totally intact, on the floor. That, at least, gave us all a moment of delight in the middle of cleaning and anguish. Well maybe my sister was not delighted. And perhaps my Mom felt a bit guilty. But my father, brother and I had a great laugh.
However, the best of all was the locked candy, which actually saved the day. The breakfront had two locked doors. On one side was the candy. On the other side was our Mom’s jewelry and some other important items.
The thieves did their best. They pried open one door. Destroying the locks and damaging the door. All they found were bags of candy that they emptied out on the floor. I wish I could be there when they searched and found nothing but candy. They must have thought we were crazy people locking up candy.
The good news is that they did not even attempt to open the other door. They left it locked. Leaving all my mom’s valuables behind. From that point on, locking up candy took on new meaning as it had saved us from losing many more important items.
It took a while to get the breakfront fixed. No more locked candy. My parents also found another place to keep the jewelry. But we never forgot how that the locked up candy saved the day. To be honest, whenever I go to visit my sister in New Jersey, I look at the breakfront and remember its importance in saving our valuables during a burglary.
zicharonot 