Letter to the Editor:

I read your article about the building on the corner of 3rd and Highway 63. The lady you talked with called it an Ice Cream Parlor. I do not remember it as that-rather I recall it being Theden Pharmacy which more than likely did have ice cream and a soda fountain as this was pretty common in pharmacies in those days (recall Crossmans Rexall Drug) in Toledo.

When I was small if I got ice cream it was usually from Hunnicutts where Gerry’s Ready to Wear was or from Crossmans.

With Hunnicutts, if you got a lollypop with pink ice cream inside-you got a free one-I don’t recall if Crossmans was the same way or not. Crossmans had a display of salted nuts of many varieties that was lighted and heated and if I had been a good boy I would get some salted peanuts which to this day are one of my favorite things.

I seem to recall Thedens having a rather serious fire when I was real small, I could be mistaken about this, but it would be interesting to see if Ed Hardon’s wecking crew ran into any charred wood during their demolishion efforts.

The lady mentioned Gus Candy Kitchen, and she was right-I did spend a good bit of time there. Gus was a terrific guy, and as long as you behaved yourself you could have a lot of fun there and Gus was ok with it-but he had rules and if you attempted to forget about them, he wasn’t hesitant about putting things straight real fast.

Ask me some time about John Hynek the former editor of The News Herald.

Bob Walton

Toledo