It Stays Crispy in Milk. A Tribute to Cereals of My Youth...

The other day I was watching my son eat his favorite cereal, Lucky Charms. And I started thinking back to when I was a kid: Lucky Charms was also one of my favorites as well.

Lucky the Leprechaun looks a little different now compared to, say, 1974, but he's still around. I thought that was pretty cool.

And as one thought segued to another, I started thinking about all the cereal "characters" of my childhood.

Every sugar-coated, frosted, packed-with-vitamins-and-iron, genuine-aritificial-flavor box of awesomeness had its own little cartoon character which tried to convince me to convince my mom that the next time she was at the Red Owl in Wadena, she should by THAT particular cereal.

And you know what? She usually did.

So I decided to take a stroll down memory lane and try to think of as many breakfast cereal characters I could from my youth. I know I've overlooked a few, but here are the ones I can clearly remember.

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First, there was Lucky the Leprechaun of Lucky Charms fame. Yes, I remember when Lucky Charms had just four marshmallow shapes! Do you?

Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles had an unfair advantage, since Fred and Barney were already established superstars in the cartoon world. I wonder if they got a royalty check for all those pebbles they sold, which I considered delicacy...

There was Cookie Jarvis, Cookie Crisp's first character when the cereal came out in 1977.

In the 1970s, it was called Super SUGAR Crisp, featuring Sugar Bear (who was a slightly hipper and skinnier version of Yogi Bear).

Later, the Post politically correct police stepped in and changed the name to Golden Crisp. Heaven forbid we admit the cereal's sweet deliciousness comes from real, 100%, bona fide SUGAR. We Americans are incredibly good at not accepting the cold, hard truth.

Clowns freak me out a little. I think it's the John Wayne Gacy thing. But I definitely remember the little sugary smiles in the bowl staring back at me...

I used to dig Dig 'Em the frog, back when it was called SUGAR Smacks (which was Kellogg's answer to Super Sugar Crisp).

Now they are called Honey Smacks, because they are sooooo much healthier with that name.

Then there were Alpha-Bits, but I don't seem to remember the name of these characters; I remember the box, though.

I remember spelling out P-O-O-P with my Alpha-Bits and laughing hysterically. Phyllis would have slapped me upside the head if she had ever caught me.

Fruit Islands floating in your milk. Hey, it seemed like a great idea, but it never took off...

I remember the Apple Jacks Kids. Stick figures? What a rip off.

Froot Loops are still one of my favorites. Who can forget Toucan Sam?

Tony the Tiger of Frosted Flakes fame has stood the test of time...

First there were Frankenberry and Count Chocula. Then came Boo-Berry in 1973. I loved 'em all!

Unfortunately, Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy didn't fair as well.

Part of General Mills' monster cereals. I loved Fruit Brute.

Talk about a walk down memory lane... I placed this very glow-in-the-dark sticker (inside specially marked boxes of Fruit Brute, of course) next to our kitchen light when I was a kid. It stayed there for years. I wonder if any of my friends remember it?

Many times companies do not know when to quit, though. General Mills came out with Baron von Redberry and Sir Grapefellow in an attempt to capitalize on their successful "berry" line of cereals. But neither got off the ground, so to speak.

Anyone remember this?

Or this?

Another failed cereal from General Mills in the 1970s. It probably wouldn't have sold any better if it had been called "Mad Cow."

Big Yella was the character for Sugar Corn Pops in 1977. His brief stint ended when the Kellogg's politically correct police changed the name to simply Corn Pops.