Help, friends! I'm super stumped! I have a very vivid recollection of not only seeing, but of purchasing and chomping into many jumbo bricks of Bazooka Gum, and I'm having trouble finding any IMAGES of the packaging on the internet.
These thick, baseball card pack-sized rectangles of chewy heaven came in the standard PINK BUBBLEGUM flavor as well as GRAPE and GREEN APPLE and were pretty much the biggest SINGLE pieces of gum on the market. They looked just like the original, bite-sized pieces, but way BIGGER! No joke! Hours upon hours of bubble blowing joy for whoever could handle all that raw sugar--after school, of course--for only 25 cents each. Mind you, that was back in 1977, when many corner stores also stocked tons of penny candy for all us free-roaming, sneaky-handed kids, thus spearheading an awesome addiction (and painful dental visits) for an entire generation! God I miss those days!
The jumbo Bazooka packs were deeply "stuck" in my seven-year-old memory, going back to April 1977, when I was two weeks shy of moving to the `burbs of Chicago and away from all my second grade friends forever. I was both scared and excited, and I didn't want to leave my awesome playground buddies without a proper goodbye. Fortunately, the 7-11 across the street from my school always stocked plenty of the jumbo Bazookas. On my last day at Green Elementary, I plunked down nine quarters (with a little "help" from my mom's not-very-well-hidden can of change) and purchased a sweet brick for each of my friends. They appreciated the gum, but were quite sad about me leaving...a truly bittersweet exchange.
As life would have it, my mom, sister, and I moved around quite a bit thereafter, so that was the last time I ever saw any of those kids as well as the jumbo Bazooka packs. I'm guessing the jumbo packs were only around for a short while, but still, I can't help but wonder...Does anyone else remember them?
The retro, bite-sized Bazooka pieces are back, but the jumbo packs are MIA!
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