1 Comment
User's avatar
1782Farm.com / Simples & Worts's avatar

Here's a note from Ted in Orleans...

Loved this article being a Rhode Island native.

I lived in the rural western part of the state and only have had a few Awful Awfuls in my life but remember them well, and fondly.

Thick milkshakes in RI are called "cabinets" and my favorite flavor was coffee. I think the official soft drink in RI is coffee milk made with Autocrat Coffee Syrup.

There was a drug store with a soda fountain complete with stools in the town (North Scituate) I grew up in.

We lived a mile away and as a little kid I used to put on a knapsack and walk the mile into town, really 2 miles because I would walk both sides of the road looking for redeemable bottles.

If lucky when I reached town I would have enough money to buy a coffee cabinet. If not it would be penny candy and still a good day.

Expand full comment