Walk Down Memory Lane
Photography/ASB Creative
“I use to pedal my bike to 921 South Rd Clarence Gardens, knock on the wooden door at the front reception and politely ask a factory lady if I could buy some nuts freshly roasted, then I’d go to see Metro Milk and the milk cartage trucks would let me sit in his truck and he always got me a fresh cold chocolate milk so I always shared the fresh nuts with him... I’m now 60 and I miss Ditters.”
“I remember sitting under our almond trees (60+ years ago) with our Labrador who cracked almonds perfectly and made a little pile of them and then would savour every one of them. I’d sit with her cracking the shells with a hammer to collect the nuts for my Nanna (who lived next door) to sell to the Ditters Nuts shop in Adelaide. Lovely memories every time I see almonds. My Nan also sold walnuts to Ditters. I used to be so happy if I got the nut out whole because she got more money for them. And Nanna used to say she wished she could sell the nuts Tina the Lab shelled because they were perfect!”
“I have come back to Ditters because it holds special memories for me – my Dad used to buy each of us kids and my Mum Ditters fruit and nuts EVERY Christmas – making a special trip to the city from Eden Hills (and in the 70’s that was a loooooong way!) and those special white bags of goodies were the highlight of our Christmas Stocking. I’m the last one of my close family left but I like to keep the tradition alive. I love that it’s a South Australian business using lots of Australian produce. I have bought several Christmas gifts for my own family and friends and they all enjoy them.”
“I grew up on Edwards Street just around the corner from Ditters on South Road in the 60s. Will never forget going with dad to the factory every Christmas to buy some nuts, dried and glazed fruit.”
“I remember going into your King William St shop with my Mum often when I was quite young. She’d order ‘a half’ of this and ‘a quarter’ of that and ‘a pound’ of roasted peanuts. The glacé fruits on display looked glorious and always caught my eye.”
“Despite being busy, Christmas brings me joy...shopping with Ditters. I am 70. Every year Mum and my mother in law and Aunties all went to city store – bought up for puddings, cakes and glacé fruit gifts.”
“We have fond memories going back many, many years, to the 60s in fact. Always loved your products and quality and were very disappointed when the last remaining shop closed. Ever since we have watched you gradually add more and more to your list. It is wonderful to have more choice now and I’m sure you will add even more. I personally loved the ‘spuds’ actually made of marzipan.”
“I’ve loved Ditters for over 50 years! We lived in the country and it was always one of our first stops on a long list whenever we went to the ‘city’ – Adelaide”
“Have missed your Adelaide city shop so much. We used to pop in just before leaving the city after a shopping trip. Gawler Place just isn’t the same. Glad to discover you are online.”
“My mother Nina Lewis and I worked at Ditters Edwardstown factory for many years. Mum worked on the peanut belt checking for good and occasionally bad nuts! My job, once the Christmas holidays started, was store wide, in and out of the cool room, packing this and that and being told by the then manager Mr Cleveland to stop working so hard! Loved it there. Having lunch in the canteen with Mum and other workers and having lunch at one of the two local hotels on a Friday!”
“It is great to be able to support a local South Australian company as I have for years. Whenever I visited the city many years ago, a point of call was always Gawler Place for my favourite special treat - dried bananas.”
“My Mum would sell our shelled almonds each year to Ditters back in late 1950s to 60s. We kids spent many hours helping Mum shell the crack almonds. Our house was built on land that had been an orchard previously. We kept 11 trees. Gradually the trees died off. Only one remained when she died. I have memories of the smell and beauty of the blossoms in spring time. Because there were a few different varieties, the blossoms also looked slightly different. I think Mum referred to some as paper shell. The method used to crack the almonds was to feed them through an old mangle. We kids would then open up the cracked almonds.”
“When I was a kid we had a big block it had paper shell almond trees on it Dad would knock all the almonds down onto tarps we would sit around inside the house t v going and crack all the almonds Mum and Dad used pay their rates and water out of the money they got selling the almonds to Ditters.”
“When I was 17 I came to Adelaide from Sydney to visit with my sister who had moved to Adelaide. This was May 1971 and I was still at school. She lived in Unley Park so I used to catch the bus to Rundle Street. I discovered the Ditters store in the city. After this I would go to the city almost daily! My first port of call was always the Ditters store for the small fruit and nut cake which I would bring back and my sister and I would demolish in one sitting!!! This became an almost daily occurrence! I now live in Adelaide (18 months now) and still pine for those beautiful cakes!!”
“When we first arrived in Australia in 1961 we had a house in Windsor Gardens. Our garden was huge and we had a dozen almond trees. Soft and hard shell. My dad used to sell the almonds to Ditters too.”
“Once a year my mum and her friend and us kids and her kids would go to the almonds trees behind where the King Neptune statue was (behind Trident service station). We would break down bamboo and hit the trees to bring the paper-shell almonds down. Back home we’d all gather round and shell the almonds and our mum’s would take the almonds to Ditters to sell. Ditters had the most delicious Glace Fruits too.”
“In the 40’s, along with my brother, James, we used to help our Grandpa “shell” the almonds that he grew. We were “paid” for our help. They were then sold to Ditters. It seemed a very important job at the time. They were good memories.”
“We moved to Adelaide from Melbourne in 1950. I’d never heard of Ditters Nuts until my Mum (Nina Lewis) landed a job at your city store. She worked there in the late 50’s and early 60’s and needless to say, we always had a good supply of Ditters Nuts at home. I follow your Facebook page and could not help myself when I saw your ad for the Gourmet Fruit Cake, I ordered two of them yesterday and can’t wait to receive them.”
“One of my ABSOLUTELY favourite South Australian (Australian) companies because of their quality produce and caring family service. Special memories of the magnificent chrysanthemums, grown in the front of their Edwardstown property.”
“As a child in the 50’s, I recall waiting at the corner of our street for my dad to come home from work bringing with him a bagful of Ditter’s Devilled Almonds. Dad worked in Adelaide city and would call into Ditters for the payday treat that the whole family enjoyed. They were so, so good, I still remember the taste and subtle bite of cayenne that they had.”
“Ditters Nut and Fruit Specialists of South Australia are a bit of an institution really. They have been sitting there in that lovely little store at the North end of Gawler Place since I was a teenager, so at least thirty years. The seductive nutty smell of cashews and Brazil nuts under warming lights or the sweet smell of dried fruit always pleases. I love going in there and getting a special mix of fruit and nut for nibbles just because of the historic feeling of the place and that sense of continuity – you know, once something has been there ‘forever’ you kind of feel a little ownership of it on some levels ridiculous as that seems.”
“For over 50 years my family has loved Ditters fruits and nuts, and fruitcake. My grandpa even worked for Ditters after he retired from the bank, and my family had moved to the States. The annual Xmas gift box was our favourite treat!”
“I was born on the Yorke Peninsula and left when I was quite little however would always go back to visit friends regularly and stop in Adelaide. My parents would always take us to Ditters and Haighs and it was always something we looked forward to! It wasn’t a trip to Adelaide without a stop at Ditters!”
“My father had 23 almond trees in our backyard and I was expected to help pick, pick up, and shell them. I HATED IT!! But I didn’t mind eating those that weren’t sold to Ditters at their Edwardstown factory. Before he bought a car, he would load all the almonds into bags etc and ride his bicycle to the factory to sell them.”
• Share your story •
We’d love to hear from you! Click below to email us.