YMCA Soap

Over the years I have sold many interesting and unusual items on Ebay. One of those interesting and unusual items that I have sold was a box of YMCA soap. I picked it from the third floor of the my previous residence.  My parents had bought it over 50 years ago.

Several times a year, my parents would go to New York City and I would go along.  They would go to New York City to buy items that you could not find in Allentown.  Part of the day would be mine and we would see various attractions such as the New York Stock Exchange or the NBC studios.  When we first went to New York, we used the Lehigh Valley Railroad. When they went out of the passenger business, we next used the New Jersey Central Railroad.  The New Jersey Central Railroad did not have the rights to go over to New York City, so you would get off on New Jersey side of the Hudson River and take a ferry boat to the other side to Canal Street. From there we would use the subway to get around.

Going back to the ferry boat, my parents found a closeout auction and would kill some time before catching the ferry boat. One time they bought a case of YMCA soap which we took home and used. For some reason not all the boxes were used and I found them when I moved out of the house. I sold one box to a party in Japan and then sold another box to a party on the west coast.

I told the story of how I got the soap to the second party and she  told me why she bought it. She has given me permission to share her comments.

Thank you. My husband and I meet at Y Camp. We have been living, working and raising our kids at YMCA camps for the past 15 years. I often hear stories from alumni about how they sold peanuts or soap to earn their way to camp.

I purchased the soap to put on display along with other historical items in our new dining hall

I am glad my soap has found a good home.