This following is part of a post I wrote a few years ago. Today I had a conversation about Hills popcorn and Cherry ICEE’s on Twitter and thought it would be appropriate to post again.

It amazes me still how we form bonds with certain brands and when they are gone you can still mention some small detail and the memories are as clears as day.

My memory of Hills Department Store:

You remember Hills, right? “It’s where the toys are.” Truth be told my mother worked at hills when I was younger. She worked in the layaway department. But what everyone remembers about Hills is when you first walked in you were greeted by the smell of fresh popcorn and ICEE’s!

It was really the perfect combination. Much better than Movie Popcorn and SnoCaps combo (I learned that one from one Jaime Fox in college; she always claimed it was the perfect combination of salty and sweet).  

There was just something about Hills popcorn that one could not resist. Maybe it was the taste lightly buttered with a little bit of salt. Maybe it was the packaging the long paper bag like container or the big plastic bag that made it so enticing. Whatever it was it evoked fond memories from everyone. We talked about the after Thanksgiving Sale commercial where the cooked turkey sat up on the table than ran out of the house to be ready for the Black Friday sale.

Whatever it may have been proves the strong bonds people form with brands from their past. It was a sad day when Ames took Hills over. Ames was awful, from the store, to the customer service. It was done on the cheap, unwelcoming and cold. Even the popcorn wasn’t the same.

In times like these, I wish Hills was still around so I could pick up a bag of popcorn and a Cherry ICEE and waste an afternoon with two comfort foods. Well at least I got my memories of the past and a bag of microwavable popcorn to pass the time.