My husband approached me on Valentine’s Day with a shiny red bag and a huge smile. What was he up to? That grin…. That shiny red bag…. Oh, my! How he had changed over the nearly forty years we have been together! From a carburetor in a box to sweatpants in a sack, this ornery grin and a red shiny bag had me curious. What’s up? I knew it was Valentine’s Day, but….

Oh, Dennis was on top of his game! First came several cards. Pop up flower cards, funny cards, and mushy ones, too. Then came the shiny red bag. I reached in and pulled out a bag of candy. Oh, it wasn’t an ordinary bag of chocolates. No! It was a bag of Wilbur Buds. I looked at my husband, I wanted to thank him and give him a kiss, but, no, I cried. I cried because they were my grandmother’s favorite candy. I hadn’t seen them in years, memories of my grandmother having the little chocolates flooded my mind, and the tears fell.

My grandmother and I were very close. I spent every summer with her until I was about fourteen. She was kind and sincere, and she was the type of person who loved just everyone. If we were grocery shopping, she would stop to play with the little babies in the carts, chat with folks in the aisles, and start conversations with anyone anywhere. Grandmom was a very humble person with little needs or wants other than kindness, faith, and a strong will.

One treat she allowed herself were Wilbur Buds. They were a small chocolate morsel slightly smaller than a Hershey’s kiss. At the time, they were made in Philadelphia. So, they were very well known in the area from the late 1800’s, and a where Grandmom lived and shopped. The plant for the candy making was in Philadelphia until it moved to Lititz, Pennsylvania.

Want a trip as though you are raveling back in time? Then visit Lititz. Lovely bed and breakfasts are scattered about the town. There’s a quaint shopping area, nice restaurants, and several museums, one of them being the Wilbur Bud Museum. Being crazy about antiques, I saw old chocolate molds and a variety of implements used in candy making from the 1800’s and early 1900’s. It’s a history buff’s location to go!

So, yes, I shed tears when I saw the Wilbur Buds that my husband gave to me. I could see the small crystal dish with the delicious morsels my grandmother had on a table. I remember asking for a Wilbur Bud and always being told I could have just one (but she gave me three or four). I remembered telling my family the stories of Wilbur Buds in Philadelphia.

These are the memories you take with you for life. These are the ones where a picture immediately pops into your mind’s eye, and you are suddenly transported in time. Oh, yes! It could have been a necklace, a ring, or a pair of earrings. But none would have brought the emotions that the Wilbur Buds did.

We all have something that spurs on memories like this. I’m hoping there’s a little something that reminds my granddaughter of me in the future. Sometimes it’s something as small as a Wilbur Bud, a crystal dish, and summers with your grandmother. So, what tiny tidbit brings back a flood of memories for you? Until then…. have a remarkable and marvelous Monday, be safe, and I love you.