Retro Revival

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Many of the rediscovered brands are from their original small-town manufacturers. Mallo Cups, for example, are still made by Boyer Candy in Altoona, Pa., and Chick-o-Sticks are in their 52nd year of production by Atkinson Candy in Lufkin, Texas. Some brands, like Fizzies, have changed their recipes, while other candies, like Jujubes and Sugar Daddys, contain the same ingredients that first enthralled the taste buds of the youngsters who grew up watching Howdy Doody and The Lone Ranger.

When midlife adults reminisce about those days, the concept of a "simpler" life often informs their musings. Will Lewis, 58, the owner of a printing business in Leawood, Kans., recalls growing up in Bible Grove, Ill., with a population of fewer than 100, and the thrill of going to the nearby big town every Saturday, where he joined the line of kids waiting to ride the bucking bronco in front of the five-and-dime. Recently Lewis bought his very own pony, Nellie, from Kiddie Rides USA, a Denver outfit that purchases old rides, refurbishes them and sells them on its website. Lewis had Nellie branded with his initials, and she's now the pride of his rec room.

JoAnn Hagopian, 54, a human-resources director in Cincinnati, Ohio, says the quarter-operated pony she and her husband Gary, 56, a lawyer, bought for their living room reflects nostalgia not so much for her childhood but for the happy time when her daughters, now 18, 20 and 22, thrilled to such rides as little girls, crying "Again, Mommy, again!"

Whether these youthful icons conjure up for parents their own idealized childhood or that of their kids, the marriage of old-fashioned manufacturing and new Internet technology is giving adults a tangible way to savor and share their memories in the here and now. As well as the chance to eat as many Jujubes as they please.