When my brothers and I were kids, our parents would take us on cross-country road trips to Iowa and New York, often stopping at national parks along the way. On those long, lonely western highways, those bright yellow billboards would beckon us breathlessly: “Stuckey’s, 100 miles ahead.”. They’d sell kitschy local souvenirs (my brother and I would cover our suitcases with state stickers), candy — and practical stuff like food and gasoline. Stuckey’s was founded in 1937. At their height, they had 368 stores in 30 states (and 4,000 billboards). In the late 1970s, Stuckey’s was bought out by a large conglomerate and their numbers dwindled.
In 1984, the son of the founder bought Stuckey’s back and began to revive the chain. They exist today mainly in the southeastern U.S. I ran across this one along Virginia’s Eastern Shore and had to stop in for nostalgic purposes. They’re still selling those famous pecan log rolls.
These billboards appeared all over the interstates when I was a girl. Along the lonely undeveloped stretches of I-10 and I-40, the signs would start about 100 miles ahead of the Stuckey’s location, beckoning us in with its promise of a snack bar, candy, souvenirs, rest rooms, and gasoline. Baby boomers may remember toys such as rubber alligators, coonskin caps, toy bows and arrows, and dunking birds.
Stuckey’s had another distinction, too, beyond its bright blue roof. Stuckey’s founder, WS “Sylvester” Stuckey, was determined to make all visitors feel welcome. Stuckey’s stores were listed in the Green Book which African-Americans used during the era of segregation to find businesses which were Black-friendly.
Stuckey’s was especially known for its pecan log rolls and other pecan-based candies. I tasted my first batch of divinity at a Stuckey’s somewhere along I-40 and it’s been a favorite of mine ever since.
I tried to look up the address of this particular Stuckey’s, but it doesn’t appear to exist anymore. The Stuckey’s website does show roughly two dozen stores in Virginia, just none on the state’s Eastern Shore. Stuckey’s has approximately 70 stores in all, located from Texas and Missouri to the west, Georgia and Floria in the south, and heading north up the east coast as far as Connecticut. If you see one, stop on in for a piece of Americana.