Jan Heirrell checks out a bottle of Glen Rock pop at the Gurnee farmers market with the approval of Linda Michalek. Mick Zawislak/mzawislak@dailyherald.com

Cream is a dream and grape is great, but there's more to Glen Rock pop than flavor.

For generations of pop drinkers, the name itself evokes happy memories and feel good vibes of family parties, picnics and events, or picking bottles of favorite flavors at the bottling plant in Waukegan to create a variety pack to take home.

“It tastes like childhood,” explained Rob Gartley, who with his wife, Cindy, came specifically to a recent Gurnee farmers market for a taste of the past. “It’s been 45 years since I had this, and it still tastes like yesterday.”

Keith Michalek, “chief cook and bottle washer” of GlenRock Beverages Inc., left, exp

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