Ice cream suppers were for the entire family.  It might start about 5 o’clock.  If the final chores, such as milking, were not finished, someone stayed behind to finish up.  Everyone brought a gallon of milk with sugar, eggs, fruit, etc.  The host and hostess furnished the ice and salt.  Since 100-pound blocks of ice were bought there would be a new or scalded wash tub for lemonade.  Everybody that had a freezer brought it.  Also they might bring their dish, spoon and glass.  Three dozen lemons were rolled, squeezed and put in the tub.  The block of ice would be in the middle of the tub.  Ten pound of sugar was poured in and ten gallons of water was added.  Oh! So good!

            The teenagers got to lick the ice cream freezer paddles.  The cream around them was always the hardest.  All the kids wanted to turn the crank.  After it wouldn’t turn anymore the fathers checked it and wrapped the whole thing in sacks, paper, etc. so the cream could ripen and set.  The kids also sat on the freezer while the handle was being turned. 

            Oh, what fun it was to sneak up on an old crabby person and put a piece of ice down their collar.  Or if a girl wanted a boy to chase her she would put a piece of ice down his collar.  Nobody ever thought of putting ice down the front of a woman’s or girl’s dress. 

            By nine o’clock every bite of cream had been eaten.  All the lemonade drunk.  Everybody took their belongings and left.  The next morning the only sign of a party leftover was where the ice and salt had been emptied.  If it was emptied on grass it killed it.  If somebody was sick and couldn’t come somebody run over with a dish of ice cream and a jar of lemonade.  The ice cream might not be frozen too hard but it was sure a lot colder than store bought ice cream.             

Louise Weir Frasier
January 1, 1992