Episode 83 digs deep, both into the past and into the ground.
It begins with the strange but true story of buried treasure on Cape Cod. Who was Mabel Simpkins-Agassiz, and what was the odd object she had buried on her property? And how is that object still around today?
Next, is a Road Trip exploring one of the beautiful towns of Cape Cod. Dennis, Massachusetts is dead center on the Cape and is home to miles of beaches, culture, arts, history, and naturally shopping and restaurants. Find out more about what makes this town special and a must for any visit to Cape Cod.
We go way Back In the Day to look at some classic New England convenience stores of yesteryear. Sure they may have all sold basically the same items but some of these names are sure to bring back fond memories of local kids from the 80s and 90s. Before 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms dominated the region there were other stalwarts.
The 90s spawned some memorable commercial advertising mascots. This weeks Top 5 gives a spotlight back to some of those beloved characters that did their best to sell whatever product they were associated with. How many of these will you remember?
There is also a brand new This Week In History and birthday-themed Time Capsule that looks back at the founding of Netflix.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 82 here.
Episode 83 digs deep, both into the past and into the ground.
It begins with the strange but true story of buried treasure on Cape Cod. Who was Mabel Simpkins-Agassiz, and what was the odd object she had buried on her property? And how is that object still around today?
Next, is a Road Trip exploring one of the beautiful towns of Cape Cod. Dennis, Massachusetts is dead center on the Cape and is home to miles of beaches, culture, arts, history, and naturally shopping and restaurants. Find out more about what makes this town special and a must for any visit to Cape Cod.
We go way Back In the Day to look at some classic New England convenience stores of yesteryear. Sure they may have all sold basically the same items but some of these names are sure to bring back fond memories of local kids from the 80s and 90s. Before 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms dominated the region there were other stalwarts.
The 90s spawned some memorable commercial advertising mascots. This weeks Top 5 gives a spotlight back to some of those beloved characters that did their best to sell whatever product they were associated with. How many of these will you remember?
There is also a brand new This Week In History and birthday-themed Time Capsule that looks back at the founding of Netflix.
Helpful Links from this Episode(available through Buzzsprout)
Listen to Episode 82 here.
Intro
Hello World, and welcome to the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund. Coming to you from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and this is episode 83. Labor Day weekend is upon us the last gasp of the tourist summer. And I have a fun episode planned for you right now, starting off with the Weird But True Story of the buried treasure of Mabel Simpkins. For those of you visiting Cape Cod, we're going to take a special road trip dead center of Cape Cod to the town of Dennis, we're going to go way, way back in the day and look at some former New England convenience stores to give you some sweet memories as a brand new top five that are going to be the top 519 90s commercial product mascots. And of course as a brand new this week in history and time capsule with a special birthday theme. All coming up right now on episode 83 of the In My Footsteps podcast. September has arrived, you hear that Earth Wind, and Fire song playing. I like summer, but I love fall. So my favorite time of year is just about to begin. But I do want to thank all of the tourists and visitors who have come to Cape Cod to the islands, the kind and decent ones who are respectful to our land and to the people who work here. I worked in the hospitality industry for a long time. And I know how petty and selfish some people can be when it comes to things that don't mean a lot like food. So as I get older, I appreciate those who come here and are just decent human beings, I guess the bar has been set low. But more closer to home, I wanted to thank everyone who's been tuning into the podcast, August was my third consecutive month that was my top month for downloads. That is a good streak to be on. And I'm going to do all I can to pump out great episodes to make September the fourth in a row. But that all comes down to you. I can only promote this so much. So when I get people sharing the episodes, and positive reviews all over the podcasting platforms, that does so much. And like I say you can always buy me a coffee if you want. I wanted to give a big shout-out to Keith, who bought me some coffees recently, I really do appreciate it. Knowing that people donate to something that's a passion project of mine, it really does. It means a lot. And anyone that donates, I will shout you out on the podcast if that's an incentive. But otherwise sharing it and promoting it. That means even more. A quick update about Book number 7: Photographers, America, Cape Cod, the heart and Soul Beyond the beach. I've mentioned it many times here. I had thought it was going to be released later this year, like mid-fall. However, I got word from my publisher that they want to capitalize on the return of tourists and visitors. So it's going to be April 2023. So early spring. It's a little disappointing, but it's understandable. And this being my seventh book, I've had delays before so I'm kind of used to it. But it creates an interesting situation because that book will be coming out in April. The revised version of my very first book In My Footsteps A Cape Cod Travel Guide is looking like if it's not out in December, it might be the first of the year. So that's a second book that would be for 2023. And as you all know, I am pushing hard to get my Lady of the Dunes book picked up by an agent and sent to a publisher as high up as I can go. I've sent several query letters to literary agents. As of this recording, I haven't heard back but they typically take six weeks to get back to you. So it's a waiting game. That's really nerve-wracking. But if everything goes well, the Lady of the Dunes book could end up coming out at some point mid 2023 Near the end of the year. So I could end up with three books being released next year, which is a great problem to have. And if anything changes, I will keep you up to date with any of these three books. But that stuff's all the way in the future still. Let's pull it back. Labor Day weekend starts tomorrow when this podcast goes live. But then again, you could be listening to this in the future and it's not even close. Or you could be listening to this in another country where Labor Day isn't even a holiday. And I do I have listeners in Germany and France that I always see so welcome aboard. I hope you enjoy episode 83 We're going to start it off with such a weird story that ended up being totally true. This is the story of the buried treasure of Mabel Simpkins on episode 83 of the In My Footsteps podcast.
Mabel Simpkins's Buried Treasure
The name Mabel Simpkins Agassiz might not ring a bell to very many people, whether living on Cape Cod, or New England in general. Her name does carry a lot of weight today, though, especially in the town of Yarmouth on Cape Cod. First and foremost, the sandy beach at Dennis Pond on Summer Street in Yarmouth Port was once owned by Mabel. It was a part of the sandy side estate that the Simpkins family called home for generations. As she aged Mabel leased the beach to the town for use by the children of Yarmouth Mabel Simpkins was the sister of John Simpkins, and he was a US Representative from Massachusetts from 1890 and 1891. Perhaps more notably, for locals, including myself is the school that one's bore his name in Yarmouth for decades. Now home to apartments for senior citizens. Not very long ago, the stoic brick building on Yarmouth Old Main Street was known as John Simkins Elementary School. In addition to the beach at Dennis Pond, Mabel Simpkins made several generous donations to the town. These included the Johns Hopkins wing of the Yarmouth Port Library, as well as creating the Cape Cod Library Club. Despite these contributions to her hometown, and despite her well-known local family, there is one thing that Mabel might be known for, above all else. It is a story of the treasure she buried on her Sandy side property nearly a century ago. The Saga of Mabel Simpkins's buried treasure started with her marriage to George Agassiz in June 1902. Ag Aziz himself was part of a famed family also, George was an astronomer zoologist, and Harvard graduate. His father, Alexander was a scientist and engineer. His grandfather Louis was an important biologist and geologist. The newlyweds took their honeymoon to Europe, specifically Italy. It was there that they visited a relatively new automobile company known as Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino or Fiat F-I-A-T. George and Mabel purchased a brand new 1904 Fiat 2432 horsepower. These expensive luxury vehicles were made from 1903 to 1905 and had top speeds above 75 kilometers or 46 miles per hour. The auto was built fresh, listed as chassis number 745, and shipped to America in June 1904. In total, the vehicle costs a couple $9,000 or more than $279,000 when adjusted for inflation. Once on Cape Cod, it became only the second vehicle registered in Yarmouth. Overall at the time, there were a measly 16 vehicles registered on the entire cape. Mabel and her brother Charles Simpkins did the majority of the driving of the vehicle, taking it on trips all over Cape Cod. For 27 years, Mabel and Charles enjoyed innumerable cruises around the Cape in the Fiat 24 to 32 horsepower. Charles died suddenly of a heart attack in June 1931 At the age of 64, and Mabel was devastated. She had a deep emotional connection to the automobile and tried desperately to find a buyer. However, the vehicle was nearing three decades in service, and it was not seen as a worthwhile investment. Rather than simply cut bait. With such a special piece of machinery, Mabel had a far different and far more unique idea. Much like a beloved family member, the Fiat was given a proper burial on the property of Sandyside in 1932. Yes, that is right. Mabel Simpkins had her car buried on her property like it was a human. For many years, the Fiat remained underground, out of sight, but not out of mind. In fact, the rumor and legend of the buried car in Yarmouth port only grew. The rumor and legend made it all the way to the ears of Boston resident Ted Robertson in 1942. Robertson then contacted Mabel and asked for permission to exhume the Fiat. She agreed and Robertson purchased the vehicle site unseen for $50 or about $850 today, when Robertson and his crew dug up the vehicle, he was amazed at its condition. The Fiat had been buried upside down with its seats removed, and with its wheels on top of it like arms folded across the chest of a body, which is kind of morbid. Remarkably, despite it being in well-worn condition by the fact that it was buried underground for a decade or more, the Fiat was sold in between several different collectors over the preceding decades. Robertson went on to found the Sports Car Club of America in 1944. David Whelan from Milwaukee bought the Fiat for $500 in 1952, or just over $5,200 when adjusted for inflation, and he kept it stored for 40 years. Restorations on the vehicle did not take place until the early 90s, which means that it was just as it was found when it was dug up from the ground for decades. But in the early 90s, the Fiat was returned to its former glory despite being nearly a century old, including 10 of those spent underground. In 2007, Jan Rooijen of the Netherlands bought it. He held on to it until 2018 when it was sold at auction through the bottoms for $808,000. And if you look it up online, you can find those auctions where the car was sold. It is still going today, almost 120 years after it was built. After the Fiat was exhumed and sold off Mabel and George Agassiz continued to live at Sandyside in Yarmouth port. George died in February 1951 At the age of 89. In Memorial, Harvard University named their observatory at Oak Ridge in Harvard, Massachusetts after George. After his death, Mabel moved to Dedham, Massachusetts, where she lived out her remaining years. She died in March 1961 At the age of 91. Despite the story of the buried Fiat on her property, being likely what would spring to mind first when thinking of Mabel Simpkins Agassiz, it is far from her most important contribution to Cape Cod. She was a hugely giving benefactor to her hometown of Yarmouth, from Dennis Pond, to the Bass River Rod and Gun Club. Yarmouth Port Library to John Simkins Elementary, her fingerprints were and still are apparent all over Yarmouth.
Road Trip: Dennis, MA
All right, is road trip time again. For me, I'm going to stick close to home here as I visit one of the 15 beautiful towns on Cape Cod as we check out the town of Dennis. It's funny because when doing these road trips, I think of places I've gone to and driven to take in day trips, too. But I feel that coming to Cape Cod is such a big thing for a lot of people in New England and beyond. Which is why I haven't done that many Cape Cod towns so far on the podcast. But Dennis has an amazing town. It stretches from Nantucket Sound to Cape Cod Bay across the cape. It's about 80 miles southeast of Boston, and about 80 miles also east of Providence, Rhode Island. So it's an easy day trip for at least half of New England. Despite my personal tastes as far as what I go looking for on road trips. I know that the vast majority of people who come to Cape Cod who come to Dennis are looking to go to the beach. Luckily there are tons of beaches on the base side on the sound side, legendary beaches like Chapin Beach. And if you keep going east along Chapin you get to Bayview and Mayflower and eventually to Seward Harbor, you start to get closer to the tidal flats that are world-famous down here on Cape Cod. They are some of the biggest tidal flats in the world, meaning that when it's low tide, at the very low tide, you can walk out from the beach, a mile, a mile and a half or more. So you want to talk about having no problem finding an unoccupied piece of beach. And it's amazing for sunsets with the boats that get stuck on the sand and the buoys that are just sitting in the sand and all the little streams and ripples that are created by the receding water. And on the south side, there's West Dennis beach right along Bass River. And if you're looking to take your boat on Bass River and you're in Dennis you can go to Follins pond on Mayfair Road and drop your boat in there and go all along Bass River. My buddy Steve and I have hopped in his boat several times riding along the river. And it's a lot of fun to see Dennis and Yarmouth from the water when I haven't done it that often. So I'm sure you would enjoy that. If you're not into boating, maybe you're into cycling. There are several places to park to get on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Up until five years or so ago. The dentist's parking lot right on Route 134 was the end of the rail trail. It took forever but they finally lengthened it through into Yarmouth through Bayberry Hills Golf Course. So no matter where you park, you can take the rail trail ride it up into Wellfleet, or at the rotary of the rail trail, take the offshoot of the Old Colony Rail Trail and ride that in the Chatham. They are working on extending the trail again in Wellfleet. It's partially done, it's going through an old campground, with plans to expand it eventually into Hyannis into Independence Park, which means you could ride your bike into the Cape Cod mall from anywhere on the cape. But judging by how long it took the trail to get expanded into Yarmouth, I will likely be dead before it gets finished going from Provincetown all the way over the cape. For those who enjoy history, I would highly recommend checking out Scargo Tower which is on Scargo Hill Road. If you're a kid growing up on Cape Cod in the last 100 years, you likely have visited Scargo Tower, and the closer you live to it, the more you probably saw it. The tower itself was named for Native American princess Scargo. It overlooks a pond that looks like a fish which is unique. The tower itself was originally built in 1874 and it was built of wood. Two years later a storm knocked it down so it was rebuilt again of wood and it lasted until 1900 when it burned down in 1901. It was rebuilt again this time out of Cobblestone and it still stands. There is beautiful views from the top as it's 30 feet tall and on top of Scargo Hill. A couple of years ago it was shut down for many months while it had a complete restoration but now it's open to the public again. If you're looking for some culture, you can check out the Cape Cinema and Cape Playhouse both right on Route 6A in Dennis Village. Cape Cinema is a beautiful classic old movie theater built in 1930. It shows first-run movies it shows old classics, it simulcast operas. There's an incredible rainbow-painted mural along the ceiling in the theater that really makes this place unique. Check out capes cinema.com. If you're in the area, and you want to see a movie in a classic theater, this was where the opening of the Lady of the Dunes documentary began, and then was shown for a full week stay. And it's a really special theater for Cape Cod. So I think you'll enjoy it if you go check it out. On the same grounds as the Cape Playhouse. They do a lot of shows, especially during the summer. They've been open since 1927. Some legends of Hollywood have performed at this theater, including actors like Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Imogen Coca, and more. Check out Cape playhouse.com to see what's playing see what tickles your fancy if you want to go and see a good play. It's just a really neat setup to have such a famous playhouse and cinema on the same grounds. If you're building up an appetite going to all these places in Dennis Don't worry, I've got you covered. Start with breakfast at Grumpies. They're at 1408 Main Street aka route 6A or Grumpies Cape cod.com. They have all the classics that you could want for breakfast pancakes, French Toast Waffles, omelets, they've got soups and sandwiches, and entrees for lunch. And they've got the unique homey decor that is something that is missing in a lot of places nowadays. It's very fun and very familiar and the food is great. Of course you visiting Cape Cod from all over you want some of the classic seafood, go to the cream cone. They're at 961 Main Street aka Route 28 or cream and cone cream and cone is spelled with Ks. They also have all of the classics: fried seafood, fish, onion rings, and fries, it is every bit the tourist destination. But that's not always a bad thing. And if you're looking for ice cream, you can take a slice of my childhood at Captain Frosties. They're at 219 Main Street aka Route 6A, or Captain frosty.com. They're kind of similar to cream and cone, except it's more of a walk-up. So if you're driving down Route 6A past Captain Frosties on a summer evening, it's common to see lines 15-20 people deep, but you have to experience it at least once. If you're not looking for fried seafood and you want just ice cream, you can go right up the road to the ice cream smuggler. They're right at the intersection of Route 6A and Route 134. They're one of the most beloved ice cream spots on all of Cape Cod. And a couple of years ago, it looked like they may end up having to close down if they couldn't find a new place to do business. But they were lucky they found a spot and now they're better than ever. So you can get your ice cream in the evening, drive down to Seward harbor and watch the boats come in, or drive over to Cold Storage Beach. I know summer is when most people take their vacations and most of the time, that's when they come to Cape Cod. But in the offseason, Dennis is year-round population is just under 15,000. In the summer, at least doubles. But there's really no bad time to come down to dentists to come to Cape Cod. All four seasons are unique. Visit Dennis chamber.com To get a better idea of things to do and see. Because even though I know this town like the back of my hand, I have my preferences. So I'm sure there's a lot of great stuff that I'm leaving out, I would highly recommend getting in your car and just taking a drive on Route 6a old Kings Highway, aka one of the best scenic routes in New England. And don't just drive it in Dennis. There are tons of old classic homes and of course beaches and quaint shops and restaurants. And it is far less crowded in the summertime than Route 28. The joke is good luck trying to make a left turn on Route 28 in summertime, you might as well just not try. Dead center on Cape Cod. Less than 100 miles from Boston or Providence a short day trip from most places in New England. Dennis, Massachusetts in the heart of Cape Cod is an excellent place to visit. I drive through parts of that town pretty much every day. So I know you'll enjoy it if you come down here and check it out. And I'll be back next week with a brand new road trip. Likely not as close to home as this one but hey, you never know.
This Week In History
This weekend history we're going back a quarter century. That's right 25 years ago this week, August 29 1997, and the formation of Netflix. It's amazing to think how big Netflix is today. And yet it seems like it's brand new, but it's been around 25 years. It was originally founded by Reed Hastings and Mark Randolph, in Scotts Valley, California. They were able to use $2.5 million from a company called Pure Astria that they owned to get started with Netflix. The story is that the company got started when Hastings got fined $40 from Blockbuster Video for returning Apollo 13 late and this began as DVDs by mail. It started as a rental and sales site with only 30 employees and just over 900 choices on DVD. And you get the DVDs mailed out to your house keep them as long as you want then send them back in the prepackaged envelope. Nowadays it is a big streaming service with huge shows that everyone knows everyone knows Stranger Things if you're a child of the 80s like me, you know and love Cobra Kai. It's interesting though, to look back and think about what could have been. Shortly into their tenure, Netflix was made an offer to sell to Amazon by Jeff Bezos for between 14 and $16 million. And although they initially thought it was a pretty fair deal, they ended up turning it down. But the biggest What if was three years into their tenure, Netflix was suffering losses. That was when the.com bubble burst, which I'm sure I'll talk about at some point on the podcast. But fearing that they were going to go under they actually made an offer to Blockbuster, please buy us out for $50 million. But back then in 2000, the video rental business was still strong wrong and Blockbuster must have looked at this little Netflix and said 50 million Forget it. So they didn't buy Netflix. And where's Blockbuster now they've got one store left, that's a novelty in Oregon. And even though their numbers are dropping some as of June 2022, Netflix still has over 220 million registered users. The company in 2021 made nearly $30 billion and has more than 11,000 employees now. And as of April 2022, they have more than 17,000 different titles globally for Netflix. So even as online streaming becomes the norm and more and more companies get involved like Hulu Paramount Plus and others. Netflix was the OG but it almost didn't happen. Who knows if they had sold out to Amazon or if Blockbuster had been smart and bought them out in 2000? But they didn't. Netflix is still the giant and they made their debut in the world 25 years ago this week in history. And now it is time for a brand new time capsule, a special birthday-centric time capsule. As we go back 44 years ago this week to August 28 1978. And the birth date of my oldest friend Barry, you hear me talk about him. In a lot of episodes. He designed my website, but let's see what was going on. On the day he was introduced to the world. The number one song was Grease by Frankie Valli, but not with the Four Seasons his band. The song was written by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees. So that's no surprise that it was a hit. It was the title track from the movie Greece. The song was released as a single and sold 7 million copies worldwide. It was right in the heart of the disco era. The soundtrack to Greece has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. And it included another number-one song you're the One that I Want by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. And it makes it an easy segue into the number one movie which was also Greece. The movie was based on a 1971 musical of the same name, which was written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. It stars genre Travolta Olivia Newton-John, and it's set in the 50s. It's a movie that everyone knows even if you haven't seen it, it's definitely more of a precursor to the romantic comedies of today. But growing up with three sisters, I can say even if I avoided it, I've seen Greece a couple of times. It had a budget of $6 million and made just over $366 million, which when adjusted for inflation is just over $1.6 billion. It's 76% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which is great. It also spawned a sequel grease to which the less spoken about that the better. And we'll get away from Greece to mention the number one TV show was flying high. This was a comedy-drama series that centered around the exploits of three sexy stewardesses. Working for the fictional airline of Sun West in Los Angeles. It starred Pat Klaus Howard Pratt and Connie Celica. It was number one in its first week and quickly fell off as the negative reviews came in for the stereotypical portrayal of women and how it seemed to copycat Charlie's Angels. It lasted a total of 18 episodes and was canceled in January 1979. And if you were around back then August 28 1978, perhaps you have some interest in music, more specifically the guitar? Well, all you have to do is flip through the Sears catalog. Get yourself a dual pickup electric guitar hardwood with a yellow sunburst finish a rosewood fingerboard plus a single channel amp with an eight-inch speaker and get them both together for a grand total of $81.90 or about $372 when adjusted for inflation. So there's your rockstar electric guitar starter kit. That's gonna wrap up another time capsule another this week in history. A special Happy birthday to my oldest friend Barry. I hope that it was awesome. I think it will have passed by the time you hear this. But now let's jump forward in time for a brand new top five. This is going to be the top 5 1990s commercial product mascots. So let's deliver some more nostalgia
Top 5: 1990s Commercial Product Mascots
I don't know about any of you out there that might be my age or a little older. But I still am of the mindset that the 90s was not that long ago. That was kind of a genuine shock when I mentioned this week in history that 25 years ago was Netflix 1997 doesn't seem that long ago. Well, this week, we've got a great top five, going back to the 90s. As we look at the top 590s commercial product mascots. I've already done commercial product mascots of the 80s and 70s. You can check them out in episodes 28 and 55. And as you know, with these lists, they're in no particular order. And of course, as always, I have some honorable mentions to kind of get your mind going. So honorable mentions for top 1990s commercial product mascots include the Coca-Cola polar bears, Jack Box from Jack in the Box, and Duke the Dog from Bush's Baked Beans. If you go on YouTube, you can find commercials with all these things. It's really not hard to find. I'm a connoisseur of old commercials. But those were the honorable mentions. Let's dive into the actual top five with number one, Bart Simpson. Back in the early 90s. When the Simpsons were just growing and exploding on the scene, Bart Simpson was the spokesperson for Butterfinger candy bars. Nobody better lay a finger on my butter finger. Homer would always be trying to steal his candy bar and he'd get caught. Bart Simpson continued as the mascot all the way through the 90s into the early 2000s Before the commercial campaign was dropped. In 2013. He made a brief comeback, but that didn't last long. But still, kids of my generation always associate Butterfinger with Bart Simpson and nobody better lay a finger on my butterfinger. Number two is the Energizer Bunny. Although it debuted in the late '80s It really got going in the '90s the bunny with the cool shades banging the drum to kind of show that their batteries just kept going and going, where it will be a bunch of other toys with different batteries. They'd all die out the energizer would keep going. Interestingly, in 1999, the Energizer Bunny was ranked as one of the top 10 brand icons of the 20th century by Advertising Age. It's still around today, although not as prominent as back in the 90s. But the energizer bunny has been featured in more than 115 commercials and definitely is something that if you grew up back then you have fond memories of or it annoyed the hell out of you. Number three is the Budweiser frogs. This trio of frogs first debuted during the Superbowl in 1995. And they would just Ribbit parts of the Budweiser name Budweiser. In the first commercial, they were not in sync and it was one of the most iconic alcohol campaigns in history. Interestingly, the first commercial that was in the Superbowl was directed by Gore Verbinski, who you might remember from the first three Pirates of the Caribbean films, he directed those. So that's a pretty good leap. The campaign only lasted five years 95 to 2000 before the frogs were retired, and they were on to the next advertising mascot for their beer. Number four is the Taco Bell Chihuahua. This is another one that doesn't seem like it's that long ago, but it is. It was 25 years ago this month, September 1997 that the first Taco Bell Chihuahua commercial came out with the dog coming up and having the deeper man's voice saying Yo quiero Taco Bell. The series of commercials only lasted about three years. Again, they ended in 2000. And there are a couple of different stories as to why the campaign ended. One was that Hispanic advocacy groups lobbied for the end of the commercials. The other one is that despite the huge popularity of the Taco Bell Chihuahua and the commercials, the ad campaign itself failed to really increase revenue for the chain. Either way, the dog herself was named Gidget, and lived to be 15 years old and probably had a really sweet life after being in all those commercials. Finally, we come to number five on the top five countdown of 1990s commercial product mascots and those are the talking M&M candies. These animated characters are still around today. They began with the red and yellow M&M's and always reminded me of the Lenny and George characters from Of Mice and men. They started in the mid-90s. There was that famous Christmas one with Santa fainting when he saw the talking M&M's. These commercials revolutionized M&M's and brought them back to the forefront as they had fallen off some as far as iconic candy. In addition to red and yellow over the years, they added green, brown, orange, and blue to kind of fill out their cast of characters. And if you like these commercials, credit goes to Susan Credle, who was the one who came up with the idea for the campaign and the characters themselves. And that wraps up the top five. Did you remember all of these and their commercials? Are you going to go and look them up on YouTube now? Bart Simpson with butter finger, the Energizer Bunny, the Budweiser frogs, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, and the talking M&MS. I've enjoyed doing these looks back at the old characters from these commercials from the 70s 80s 90s. I might at some point, do one for the 60s as well, depending on what you guys think. Either way, I'll be back next week with a brand new top five that will be just as random and probably just as nostalgic as this one was.
Defunct New England Convenience Stores
A Convenience Store is basically the next step in the evolution from the old general store that would sell food and beverages and some household items. But more than a century ago was also a place where townspeople would come and hang out. When you think of a convenience store, especially in the last half-century, you think of rows of coolers with soda and water, some with beer, aisles of candy and chips, and maybe some kind of hot food that you could buy but would not be recommended. Living on Cape Cod living in New England. If I say convenience store, your mind is likely going to go to Cumberland Farms or 7/11. But I want to go way, way back in the day, and look back at some of the classic old-school convenience stores that are no longer with us. Besides Cumberland Farms and 7/11. Here there are some really big convenience store chains all over the country. Speedway is around here a lot. There's Wawa there, Sheetz, Circle K, and more. Growing up as a child of the 80s teenager of the 90s on Cape Cod, I visited a lot of different convenience stores to get my soda and candy fix. The one that was closest to me was just a single place called Town Kwik Mart, which was the typical convenience store. But it was a 10-minute walk away and back in the day, you could actually walk to the store when you were 10-11 years old and not worry about getting kidnapped. But if I wanted to go further, I could head probably another mile down the street and go to one of the classics of old-school convenience stores and that was Lil Peach. I don't know how many little peaches there were in New England. I mean it had to be close to 100 I'm not sure but the logo was literally a peach. And I just remember being Lil not little. The funny thing about a lot of these convenience stores is there wasn't much that made them special or stand out besides their logo is not like going to a fast food restaurant and then having a signature item Cumbies and 7/11 do but the ones that are out of business I guess maybe they needed signature items. Back then though go to Lil Peach grab some candy and soda, and maybe walk the railroad tracks a bit like Stand by Me but in the 80s the company went out of business in 1996 with the Tedeschi food shops buying the company and rebranding all the stores into Tedeschi is interesting though when doing the research for this segment, I came across the rebranded little peach store. It's starting up again, go to little peach stores.com Because apparently, a new little peach has opened in Hudson, Massachusetts. It's listed at 28 Cox Street. I had never heard of it. I've never been there. But if any of you listen to this and go and see it, let me know if it reminds you of the old little peach, because according to the website, they're bringing it back so it's got to be connected to the original. I mentioned Tedeschi that was a huge one in New England. The first Tedeschi shop opened in 1923. Another neat connection to Cape Cod in New England is the founder Angelo Tedeschi eventually opened a supermarket chain called Angelo's, which I'm sure I'll cover in depth at some point on the podcast. At its peak, there were more than 200 Tedeschis located in Massachusetts and some in New Hampshire. They had local commercials fast and friendly, that's Tedeschi. If you're not from the area. I wouldn't expect you to remember that. Like I said earlierTedeschi bought Lil Peach in 1996. And in 2002, they also bought out another former big New England convenience store in store 24. The Store 24 chain was based out of Waltham, Massachusetts, and when they were purchased in 2002, there were convenience stores in the chain. With this purchase coupled with the purchase of Lil Peach, it made, Tedeschi is the third largest convenience store chain in New England, naturally behind Cumberland Farms and 7/11. It's interesting when researching Store 24 and Lil Peach, they seem like such a piece of distant history. But even as recent as 2008 there were stores of each that remained as Tedeschi slowly changed over store 24 and Lil Peach to their own brand. Maybe it feels longer because the brands were both just slowly dying and getting phased out. Another popular convenience store chain of yesteryear was White Hen Pantry. They were founded in Lombard Illinois in 1965. It's interesting because they were known a lot in the Midwest, specifically in and around Detroit, Michigan, Illinois, yet there was a connection to Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, which is a weird leap. But as is the case a lot in business. A larger company came and swallowed up White Hen Pantry in 2006. They were bought by 7/11. And just like with Lil Peach and Store 24 with Tedeschi slowly 7/11 turned the white hand pantries all into seven elevens. I specifically remember one right on the dentist's Harwich line that went from white hand to 7/11. And now it's closed and empty. But again, like I said, in all these defunct stores, there are no real properties about it that made it stand out besides their logo. If I mentioned to you White Hen Pantry store 24 Lil Peach, can you think of anything unique about them besides their logos? Because I can't. One convenience store chain that was definitely connected to me growing up was Christy's they were owned by local politician and businessman Christy Mihos. And I always remember when I was a kid, there was a Christy's right next to my grandfather's donut shop in Hyannis. So that's how I first knew of the brand. The original Christy's opened in Brockton, Massachusetts, much like my grandfather's original donut shop. So it's interesting that they followed each other to Cape Cod. At its peak in the early 1990s. There were 144, Christy's throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine. But stop me if you've heard this one before. In 1998, they sold all but eight of the stores to 7/11. And those eight were repurposed by Christie Mihos. So even though the chain really went out of business, almost 25 years ago, there were still a few left over. The final stores were closed in 2010. And eventually, my hosts filed for bankruptcy a few years later. So it's a recurring theme of the larger companies eating the smaller ones. And so we'll circle back to one of the former giants of New England convenience stores, Tedeschi, because obviously, they're not around anymore. In 2015, the Tedeschi company was bought by 7/11. Much like with the other store brands, it was slowly turned over from Tedeschi to 7/11. And when they said it was a gradual turnover, they weren't kidding. So we're seven years out from when the Tedeschi's was purchased by 7/11. And there's still a couple up near Boston. Now granted, maybe these just haven't been updated and they are closed. So I'm not saying go to Whitman or Canton to see if these two desks are open. But just looking just now I saw a couple at some point in the future. I'm sure I will do a segment about the rise of Cumberland Farms considering they started in Rhode Island. But it's amazing to think back did you go to any of those convenience stores in New England? I don't remember ever going to a store 24 But I sure as hell went to Christy's and Lil Peach and Tedeschi cheese and White Hen Pantry. But like I've said a couple of times Can you think of anything unique about them? Maybe there's a reason why Cumberland Farms and 711 have continued to grow while those other ones faded away. And if you're listening to this from outside of New England, let me know about some of the similar convenience stores where you grew up some former large chains that were bought out by bigger chains. Because I'm sure all across the country there are similar ones to that. But this was a fun trip, going a little bit back in the day, bringing back the memories of walking to Lil Peach to get candy soda, and chips. And hopefully, it brought back some good memories for you as well.
Closing
That'll do it that's gonna wrap up episode 83 of the In My Footsteps podcast. Like I said at the top. Thank you all to everyone who's been listening on Cape Cod, New England, in America, over in Europe, Germany and France. Thank you for helping this podcast continue to grow. August was the third consecutive month that I set a new high for downloads, which is great. I'm almost two years into this. So it could have very easily been tapering off where I'd be getting ready to wrap up this whole series. But I find myself excited about plotting out the next episode and hoping people enjoy it, and share it. If you want to donate, you can buy me a coffee, all the donations go to advertising the podcast. Happy birthday again to Barry, I want to give him another shout-out. As I mentioned, you can find me on my homepage Christopher setterlund.com, which he created, designed and updates. He's a supremely talented graphic designer and musician, but overall just a better human. So that's kind of where I lean to. I'm all over social media, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube. There's a Facebook fan page for the podcast, the In My Footsteps podcast blog at blogger.com There's always good old-fashioned email Christopher setterlund@gmail.com. Outside of the podcast and outside of my writing career I am also a personal trainer, and corrective exercise specialist among other things, if you need training or some more rehab-type stuff, or anything in terms of wellness, nutrition, etc. Come visit me at Mind Body Spine Chiropractic and our sister gym cape kettlebell, both in Brewster, check out our websites, they're being further updated as the gym just recently opened. So it's still a work in progress. But come in and visit Dr. Michael Singleton, who's forgotten more stuff in the last minute than I'll learn in my life. So I'm highly appreciative of being able to work there for such a guy. If you're in the market for beautifully homemade handcrafted apparel accessories, visit Kiwis Kustoms at etsy.com. Both spelled with Ks there's a link in the description of the podcast, cat and dog sweaters, balaclavas, fairy hats, there's cardigans, there's homemade jewelry, and she takes requests. Kaleigh Marks is honing her craft and developing her skills, I highly recommend checking out her page. It costs nothing to look and you never know you might get inspired by something that you might want her to make for you as we get into the fall and towards the holiday season. Hey, there are hints right there. So visit Kiwis Kustoms at etsy.com. As for me coming up next week is episode 84 of the In My Footsteps podcast. As summer comes to an end we're going to take a look back at all of the classic Cape Cod drive-ins that used to be here and one that is still here. We're going to take a road trip to Bristol Rhode Island. We're gonna go way back in the day and look at what it was like to get all those records for one cent from Columbia House Records. There's going to be an interesting brand new top five that are the top five product brand names that are more well known than the actual products that they are. I will explain it more next week. But this one is a really fun one to get into. And of course, there'll be a brand new this week in history and Time Capsule all coming up next week on episode 84 of the In My Footsteps podcast. By that point next week Labor Day will have passed my favorite time of year will have started. I am hoping for a big upswing in my mental health. It has been a tough road the last three and a half years watching my grandfather get sick with Alzheimer's and slowly fade away watching my grandmother, his wife slowly decline before ultimately passing away. That's not to mention my own battles with alcohol. That's not to mention Everything with COVID family members getting really sick co-workers, former co-workers dying from it, and being stuck in terrible toxic jobs. But I'm coming up on two years without alcohol. So that's great, but there's a lot more work that I need to do on myself. Sort of like a reprogramming or course correction, whatever you want to call it, but it's focused, it begins with mental health. So take care of yourself, do what you've got to do to find that happiness as long as it's not hurting someone else, which is what I always preface it by and just know how much I appreciate everyone who listens. This podcast is definitely an outlet for me. It's definitely something that brings positive mental health to myself and hopefully to some of you who listen. And remember in this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps, create your own path and leave the biggest footprint you can on this earth because you never know what tomorrow brings. I thank you all again for listening. This has been the In My Footsteps podcast. I have been Christopher Setterlund and I will talk to you all again soon.