Mousetraps

After the war, Frank worked a variety of jobs, but his first was a grocer. Like most groceries of the day, Frank’s store had jars of penny candy on the counter. There were approximately six of these jars and they held everything from peppermints to chocolate drops.

As there wasn’t much to do in the late 40’s, the local high school boys would often stop by the store to talk to Frank, only a few years their senior. They would listen to his war stories, and discuss the sports teams of the day.

They also gathered to pitch pennies, a game in which you tossed pennies at a crack in the floor, and the goal was to be the closest to the crack.

While the boys were there, they would always sneak a few pieces of candy out of the jars without telling Frank.

“I don’t know if they thought they were being sly, or what,” said Helen, Frank’s wife.

But he knew.

Frank wasn’t too mad, so he thought he’d teach the boys a lesson while having a little fun at the same time.

“I put mousetraps in all of the jars,” Frank said. “Then I covered them over with candy so the boys wouldn’t see them until it was too late.”

Sure enough, the boys were in for a surprise the next day when they tried to steal some candy. After recovering from their shock and minor pain, the boys had a laugh with Frank and agreed they had learned their lesson.