The Watkins Man?

In the past I thought the Watkins man was a southern phenomena. In the back of my mind, I sort of still do. However, since I have been online posting in various Yahoo groups, I am finding more and more people who are familiar with Watkins. Mostly from the business side, not so much the, "My mom used to bake with Watkins" side.

I am hoping to find some folks who, although they may not remember the Watkins man, will at least know of him. Personally, I never saw the Watkins man, but the vanilla and lemon extract was always in the house. Like magic. My mother swore by it and now I do. I do admit to disliking some of the packaging but I understand that I am not buying the extract and spices because these things are in a pretty package.

What I remember most about the vanilla is that my mom used to make vanilla milkshakes with the extract. O.K. it was not a real milkshake, but I was a kid, so how would I know?

Recipe for a milkshake

1 large glass of icy cold milk
Sugar to taste
1/2 teaspoon Watkins Vanilla Extract

Stir and drink.

Will it taste just as good using other extracts? I don't know. Maybe. (shrugging shoulders)

Speaking of the Watkins man. I do remember that the 'rag man' used to come to our neighborhood once a week to collect rags. He may have paid by the pound. Oh, how I wish they still did that. Actor Kirk Douglas wrote his biography many years ago, it was titled, The Rag Picker's Son. An excellent read.

Ooops. The correct title is The Ragman's Son. It is out of print but I have seen it on Alibris.com