SIDNEY — The Purity Confectionary is a name that evokes many fond memories from those who grew up in and around Sidney. The Purity was known for its candies, ice, cream and other offerings.
The Purity, located on the corner of Poplar Street and Ohio Avenue, began as the retail outlet for The Purity Candy Kitchen, founded by Evans Johnson in 1914. The factory itself was located in the rear of the Johnson’s home.
A young relative, Johnny Kookootsedes, left his home in Greece at the age of 22 and immigrated to America. Eventually, this enterprising young man came to Sidney where he worked for his relatives in 1919 at their Candy Factory, learning to make the candies and teaching himself the language. By 1949, he was the sole owner of the Purity Confectionary.
Kookootsedes made his own candies, as well as ice cream and other treats. He was also well-known for his Boston Nut Sundaes. These sundaes were a treat people traveled to Sidney to taste. Another treat at The Purity was the Ham Salad Sandwich that his daughter, Mary Jannides still makes in the same way today.
“He revealed that the Boston nut was made with one scoop of French vanilla, one of chocolate, chocolate syrup-which he made himself. The nuts were Spanish peanuts that he roasted himself, and he ground them up to put on the Boston nut sundae. Then something that looked like marshmallow, but wasn’t. It was nougat cream. The only place you could get it was from Chicago, and he got it in barrels,” remembers Jannides.
Not only was The Purity a hangout for teens, people of all ages frequented the shop run by the friendly man in the pressed white shirt and a black bow tie. Families helped to fill the booths, too. Teachers even sometimes brought their students for a “field trip.”
“Especially on Saturdays, because that was the day to go downtown and go shopping, mothers would come in with their strollers and their little ones. People just sort of grew up with The Purity,” said Jinny Shreves who worked for Kookootsedes throughout high school.
The young people liked Kookootsedes even though he expected them to use their manners and not be disrespectful and rowdy. Although he was sometimes in the basement making the candies, he could still hear if anything was going amiss upstairs.
“You had to behave there, for sure, but everybody loved him even though he made you do right. Everybody loved John,” said Shreves.
Shreves remembers Kookootsedes as a great boss. She tells of the boys who hung out at The Purity. “They would sort of saunter between The Purity and the bowling alley at The Ohio Building, but there were always plenty of them at The Purity!” She also remembers the pay of 25 cents an hour and one free item per day.
Kookootsedes valued education and expected his children to do well in school and to go on to college. All four of his children — Gus, George, Chris and Mary — did graduate from college.
He also encouraged the local youth to do the same, even loaning some of them the money to go to college. He even supported Sidney’s football team by sharing with them the proceeds from the hand-dipped caramel apples he made to sell at each game.
“He made the best caramel apples, and he made them during football season because my brothers all played football, and my mom was a football mom. He made a deal with the football moms that he would sell the apples during the football games, and part of the proceeds would go to the football moms. When other teams came to town, they knew there were caramel apples, and he was making them. They were gone by halftime.
“On Thursday after school, it was my job, along with a few others to punch the sticks in the apples, 1,500 to 1,800 apples, 7 to 8 bushels. He would make that caramel from scratch on Thursday night. He would hand-dip all those apples and set them out to stiffen up, and once they stiffened up, my brother and I wrapped them in the wax paper,” recalled Jannides
In 1962 the shop was moved to the Ohio Building by George Kookootsedes, who had taken over and remodeled The Purity into a restaurant. Johnny Kookootsedes remained a figure there until its closing in 1967.
The many people who enjoyed a 15 cent Boston Nut Sundae or a 5 cent Coke remember Kookootsedes with his white apron and friendly personality. The man who embraced his new country and its opportunities left his mark on the memories of the people who frequented his shop and touched many of their lives.
Kookootsedes passed away on March 12, 1990.
