I grew up in Eastman, GA in the 1980s so the heyday of Stuckey's had passed but I certainly knew about the company and the Stuckey's family. I remember my grandmother, who had moved to Florida, coming up to visit us one December probably in the late 1980s. They were having a pop-up style sale of candy at the original location that she wanted to go to. We bought tons of candy and I remember helping her put it all in gift bags to take to her old Eastman friends while she was in town. I honestly didn't realize the national significance and nostalgic impact the roadside restaurants had on people until I actually moved AWAY from Eastman and would tell people where I was from. "Oh yeah, Eastman is the home of Stuckey's isn't it?" Or if people don't know where Eastman is, I will often say "Do you remember Stuckey's stores? That's where the company started." And they then people will tell me a memory of stopping at Stuckey's on road trips. When I met my then-boyfriend's parents for the first time in 2006, my now father-in-law told that he worked on Stuckey's advertising campaigns in the 1970s and 80s. He had been to Eastman many times during those years and we bonded over that! He claims to have written the famous "Eat Here, Get Gas" slogan. (Not sure if he really did!) But I hope he likes the t-shirt I just bought him for Christmas that says that!
I grew up in Eastman, GA in the 1980s so the heyday of Stuckey's had passed but I certainly knew about the company and the Stuckey's family. I remember my grandmother, who had moved to Florida, coming up to visit us one December probably in the late 1980s. They were having a pop-up style sale of candy at the original location that she wanted to go to. We bought tons of candy and I remember helping her put it all in gift bags to take to her old Eastman friends while she was in town.
I honestly didn't realize the national significance and nostalgic impact the roadside restaurants had on people until I actually moved AWAY from Eastman and would tell people where I was from. "Oh yeah, Eastman is the home of Stuckey's isn't it?" Or if people don't know where Eastman is, I will often say "Do you remember Stuckey's stores? That's where the company started." And they then people will tell me a memory of stopping at Stuckey's on road trips.
When I met my then-boyfriend's parents for the first time in 2006, my now father-in-law told that he worked on Stuckey's advertising campaigns in the 1970s and 80s. He had been to Eastman many times during those years and we bonded over that! He claims to have written the famous "Eat Here, Get Gas" slogan. (Not sure if he really did!)
But I hope he likes the t-shirt I just bought him for Christmas that says that!