Bob’s balls!

This story began 40-plus years ago when two young women met at a savings and loan in Davenport, IA, which they both outlasted. Those women, Bev Smith and Anita Robacker, are still great friends today. When Bob and Anita retired, they wanted to put a car in Florida. Bob wasn’t sure how to get that extra car down there, so Dave and Bev Smith volunteered to drive it down for them. It seemed like a fun adventure since we had never traveled with Bob and Anita. So off we went, driving the famous Chevy Camaro to Florida.

At first, we did not realize the Camaro’s gas gauge was faulty, which showed full until a quarter was left, and this made our trip quite exciting, but nothing compared to our first hotel stay in Paducah, Kentucky. I still think there was a dead body outline in the lobby, and it was one of the worst hotels we’ve ever encountered. I remember asking Bev if their condo would be that bad. In the morning, Bob and Anita apologized; it turned out that Anita had marked it as never staying at that hotel again, but because of the late hour when we arrived, she thought it meant it was a good one.

We got Bob something special: malted milk balls from Lagomarcino’s, a family-owned business offering chocolates, sodas, and ice cream since 1908. We also got Anita fresh flowers; from then on, we always brought Bob malted milk balls whenever we visited.

The amusing part about these treats is that Bob never shared them with us. We suspect he didn’t share with anyone else either, and this was particularly interesting since Bob was generous with all other aspects of his life. In recent years, we discovered Angell & Phelps Chocolate Factory in Daytona Beach and began getting Bob’s malted milk balls from there, which he loved. So here they are for you to enjoy, in case you were one of the friends or family who never got to share Bob’s treats.

We will miss you, Bob, and we look forward to seeing you when we come home.

Crabby Joe’s newly opened restaurant in 2024.