Dear Editor:

In response to Tim Sample’s Crown Pilot article, I felt the need for an update. The cracker did indeed leave in a blaze of glory thanks to Tim and the diehard Mainers whose life it was part of. 

Soon after Crown Pilot’s second departure from the shelves, Hannaford had a new replacement called Original Hawaiian Soda Cracker made by Diamond Bakery in Honolulu. One cannot be timid when one has the need for baked stuffed lobster, crackers and milk, and a mug-up snack. 

Venturing into “foreign” territory, I decided to give the new product a try and felt skeptical because it looked like a saltine, but without the salt. It makes me think about that old saying about judging a book by its cover. It actually tasted like my old favorite and it got a 10 when I made the lobster stuffing. Needless to say, the end of the rainbow had delivered its pot of gold! 

My excitement was short lived though, because on my return to Hannaford to purchase more, it too had disappeared and wouldn’t be back. I got on the computer and looked for other stores that might carry them and in so doing, found I could buy them online and in this country they weren’t shipped from Hawaii but from a warehouse in Las Vegas. 

So life is good again and though the packaging isn’t what I remember from my youth, the contents are. They also have a Royal Creem Cracker which is very tasty and although it can’t take the place of Nabisco’s Royal Lunch which was discontinued in 2008 after 90-plus years. It’s really good buttered, with a cup of tea. Hawaiian also makes a Saloon Pilot cracker which is OK, but it’s definitely not like the old Crown Pilot. 

Get your Pilot loving friends together, go online and buy a case of Hawaiian Soda Crackers. They’re $4.99 a box and I believe if you spend enough, free shipping (www.diamondbakery.com).

I actually have a couple of full, unopened boxes of Crown Pilot stashed away. Trying to decide if I should sell them on eBay.

June Elderkin
Southport