He doesnt chew much gum, and when he does, it’s usually sugarless, but Marshall Larks is known in certain circles as the “Gumball King.” His store, also called The Gumball King, is dedicated almost solely to antique gumball machines, antique gum, and gum-related items.
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Down a stairway, in the basement, are shelves of gumball-machine parts: hundreds of red metal bases and plastic and glass globes. Across the alley from his store, in another basement, Larks has more gumball machines, these in greater disrepair, with rusted-out locks. Even though Larks has two large basements and a huge storefront filled with gumball-machine parts, he still doesn’t have enough room to house all his inventory. He rents a couple of garages to contain the rest. And like a guppy mom, Larks no longer recognizes all of his collection.
“In fact,” Larks noted, “the size of a penny gumball has changed substantially. This is what a penny gumball used to look like,” holding up a gumball the size of a brussels sprout. “Here’s a penny gumball today.” It was the size of a shriveled grape. “Not only are the penny gumballs smaller than they used to be, they’re hollow on the inside so you don’t get that much gum.”
In fact, the inventory is so large that some of it baffles even Larks. He points out a gum package that features a little girl wearing a shawl. The brand name is Purity. “That’s before me,” said Larks. “That must be from the turn of the century.” The wrapper clams that Purity halts stomach ailments.
“I’m just a normal grown-up kid.”
