Up All Night

 I Hear the Ice Cream Truck!

Did the ice cream truck used to come through your neighborhood, drive slowly down the street until a gaggle of youngsters ran to stop it?  Do you remember what tunes it played? 

The Smithsonian's  National Museum of American History collection includes a 1938 Chevrolet White Good Humor Truck. probably from Boston, MA.

 

photo pictured on www.si.edu/newsdesk/snaps

According to cultural history, Harry Burt of Youngstown, Ohio produced the Good Humor Bar in 1920, a vanilla ice cream bar covered in chocolate and frozen on a stick.  It was the wooden stick that revolutionized the way ice cream became easier to eat and enjoy. And the cherry on top? Burt began selling his patented cool treat from trucks rather than push carts.  Now the ice cream truck drivers could drive as far and as long as they wanted, unhindered by the manual pushing of those wooden carts.

Something I did not know until I began reading about the ice cream trucks and their music boxes, before Burt's trucks, ice cream men used to sell Penny Licks, a small bowl of ice cream that the customer licked clean. The bowl was returned to the vendor who rinsed it out from his cart and filled again for the next customer. Hmmm .... could have been the reason Burt had his men drive white trucks and wear white uniforms.

Confession ~ I did not grow up with ice cream trucks. There were soda fountains in drug stores and there were High's Ice Cream Shops in Norfolk.  

But stuck in my memory is a short little girl with bangs, in a dress, holding a grape popsicle out of the window of a monstrous sherbet green Pontiac of the late 50's (I had to kneel on the front seat to even reach the window). And I can see my brother standing at the ready with the garden hose to wash down the sticky purple streaks on the side of the car. 

My best friend's mom made popsicles in the freezer for us; I can remember tupperware-like molded ice treats. She also froze Kool Aid in small paper cups and added that stick to hold on to. 

I have just have to say, ice cream sticks and popsicle sticks do little to prevent a mess when eating, especially for children.  Right?

 

Well, one neat way to enjoy these treats today 

is with April's Paper Pumpkin kit, So Cool. 

Not from the ice cream man, but from Stampin' Up!, this paper crafting kit is delivered to your door and it includes supplies to craft 12 colorful, fun shaped cards with coordinating envelopes. This is a perfect kit to share with the youngsters in your life: grandchildren, students, Sunday School children ~ make the cards with children, send the cards to children, or order an entire kit for children to have and craft on their own. 

                   Take a look here:  https://youtu.be/5kN4485fYdQ.

I am ready to treat anyone and everyone who orders the April Paper Pumpkin So Cool kit to an icy treat (a gift certificate to your favorite ice cream shop) ~ you must be a new or returning Paper Pumpkin customer and order by April 9.  There is an orange Paper Pumpkin button to your right on this blog for your convenience in ordering;  please list me as your Demonstrator when prompted. Of course, I am also happy to order for you if you wish ~ just call or email me with your order. 

And if you need more really cool treats, Stampin' Up! has a new suite of products,  Ice Cream Corner. Choose from a stamp set of 18 images and sentiments, an Ice Cream Punch, Designer Series Paper featuring refreshing colors and treats, coordinating ribbon and a package of multi-colored Sprinkles embellishments. The colors in the suite coordinate with the Paper Pumpkin kit, too! 

                as pictured in the Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog January - June, p. 48

The suite product is available through June and may be ordered here or with me. This is a happy stamp set on its own, even if you do not order the Paper Pumpkin kit (I think I see a future class using this suite).

So, what's your favorite cool treat? I love most anything that has the word chocolate or brownie attached to it:  Brownie Sundae, Rocky Road, Belgian Chocolate Gelato, and I have stories about each flavor, recent stories even!

But what I treasure the most about ice cream is the memory of watching the Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights with an ice cream sundae that Daddy made: simply vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup and peanuts. 

Let's stamp!