The Journal News from Hamilton, Ohio • Page 10

HAMILTON DAILY NEWS, SATURDAY, NOV. 14, 1931 ream Sun a And how a little girl in Two Rivers, gets credit for naming this drug store dessert I two mischievous boys hadn't dropped a dipper of ice cream into a glass of soda water, just to see what would happen, one day back in 1872, you might not be ordering your favorite ice cream soda at a marble-topped counter today. If another curious youth hadn't insisted on some chocolate syrup on his ice- cieam, one night in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, although the proprietor insisted that it would ruin a perfectly good dish of vanilla ice cream, the sundae might also be missing from the current menu. Ice cream sodas and sundaes had to be evolved exactly like other foods. People had to develop a liking for them, just as they sometimes do for olives.

ke cream itself the plain undecoraled mixture is old stuff. One hundred and fitly years, at least. An Italian by the name of Fiorin, who had a lillle shop along the Bay of Naples, served it lo the ladies and gentlemen of his cily in the 18lh century. A London confectioner named Gunton got the same idea at about the same time. France also had the frozen idea just as early.

By 1774 the court favorites were served cream ices when they went down lo Versailles lo hear the fountains play. HE first record of the sale of ice cream in America is connected with a man named Hall in New York Cily. Jacob Fussell, though, was llie man who had a vision of a nation eating ice cream. 1'ussell was a milk dealer in Baltimore, in 1851. Every day Iw shook his head at the amount of cream that was Ml over.

Being an economical icul, he decided to do something about it. Lois of people liked the dclrcacy called ice cream, he reasoned. He would see if they would just as soon buy his brand as make their own. They preferred his confection. So much so, that he decided that there was much more money in ice cream than milk.

He sold the dessert for 60 cents a quart. He opened a plant in Boston In 1862, and nne in New York in 1864. "I he price advanced. Now he could get $1.25 a quart. By 1872 ice cream was as firmly established the Gregorian calendar.

The stage was ready for something more interesting lo happen, Rnd il very quickly did. The ice cream sundae appeared quite Ky accident. E. C. Berncrs Kad a litllc "soda parlor" al Two Rivers, Wisconsin, 50 years age.

"Trimmings on dishes of ice cream were not known then," he says. "Ice cream was con- lidcrcci a delicacy alone," T)UT one night George Hallauer dropped in. Gtorge liked ice cream, and came frequently. Berners put a large scoop of vanilla ice cream in a dish and set it before the boy. Then George had his grand idea.

On the back bar he saw r. botlle of chocolate syrup, which used in making chocolate sodas. "Put some of that chocolate syrup over the Ke cream," the boy suggested. The owner of the soda parlor gasped. "You don't want to ruin this dish of ice cream with thai syiup," he lold him.

"I only use that chocolate sauce for sodas." "I know what you use il for, bul I'll Iry anything once," George insisted. The syrup was poured over the ice cream. Thick and creamy. Berners felt guilty at ihe desecration. But George liked it.

The other customers had gathered around to watch, just as though Fulton had trying a nsw steamboal. "Then il must be Sunday, because I Tvant lhal kind," she said. Sunday. After he na TM" lrle ne1u Ciffy liked (fie name of confection something. NE year later lli into its own will Home port of the ice cream sundae.

The al 7'rvo Rivers, where an adventuresome customer frsl ate ice cream laith flavoring syrup on il. OW lliey ordered the same mixlurc. attempt wouldn't hurl, they said, lirey liked it, too. The dish became popular al once. Everyone who lefl the store lold ihe people he mel the new invention.

The crowd came flocking. Berners had lo keep his slore open until late lli.it nighl. People who hadn't been down town didn'l hear of ihe new dish unlil ihe next daj. Mothers scrubbed their children's faces and look them down lo try il. And they bumped into ihe children's fathers al ihe soda fountain.

The saloon was simply out of luck. A mug of beer couldn't compclc wilh ice a blanketed in chocolate. Meantime George Hallauer was very popular. "He's the person who thought up the dish." ihe people told one another when hr passed. A a few days customers in olhcr parlors slartcd to asV for the new dish.

At Manitowoc, not far away, there was a confectioner named George Giffy. He was angry al the new business venture. He called on Bcrners lo lell him a lew things. "What in the blazes do you mean by pulling soda sauce on ice he asked. "The practice will pul a parlor owner out of business.

It's giving loo much for a nickel." His own customers wanted dr.coralcd ice cream and he couldn't anord rl. "OERNERS smiled and prepared one of the new dishes for Giffy. He liked it. His expression changed. He slarled lo gel ideas for new sauces lo put on ice cream.

It would be a great game, only There was the expense. He gol around that by announcing thai lie, would serve ihe concoction for a nickel only on Sunday. Some days later a little girl came into ihe Giffy shop. She wanted ice crcar.i "wilh stuff on il," she said. with enough frills and furbelows lo shock an old-fashioned dish of ice cream.

Jennie Flip Sundae, Goldfish Sundae, Sunshine Sundae, Two Rivers Sundae, Silver Creek Sundae. People demanded marshmallows and nuts and i and whipped cream ar.d sometimes a whole sliced banana. The Rudy Yaltee Special was gelling an hislorical background. For five years ihere was a rush of new names for ihe enlarged menus. Names of lowns, race horses, actresses, professional sportsmen, Irees and flowers were popular.

The wallers in the parlors didn't always know what ihe patrons meant by a mere name, but since everyone knew what he wanted, customers could explain. Lots of people had sirrlplcr lastes, lliough. "Give me a float," was a common expression. A ball of ice cream would be dropped into a lall alass of milk, a few crackers put on the plate on which the glass slood, and the whole dish would be sold for a nickel. The "floal" tfas probably ihe slarl of the milkshake idea, with which crackers are still served.

The ice cream soda, invented several years ahead of the sundae, came into existence in much ihe same way. a i i crlson anc lay, in New York 1 John Rob- Francis Tielz were walking They went into Kline's con- down the street, fcctioncry. But instead of ordering a plain glass of soda water, or a dish of ice cream, as sensible pa- Irons always did, ihcy decided drinks and spice them up a litllc. "We want some ice cream," C. Berncrs, who invented the ice cream iundac customer astfcd for chocolate sljrufj ice cream.

The proprieldr explained that lie served it only on Sunday. "Then it musl be Sunday, because I wanl a kind," the child said, nothing daunted. Giffy liked the name of Sunday, ho. had to call ihe new confeclion He would list il as a "sundae." Soon all the ice cream parlors around Two Rivers and Manilowoc were calling new dish a "sundae." Glass salesmen were the next to become inlcrcsted. Sundae dishes were made.

TVic men devised the ice crenm soda John Robertson and Francis Ticlz, ivhosc ingenuity flowered in a New York ice crcrtm parlor. After all, something. "And soda walcr," John added. "Bring along some pineapple and cherries," Francis added. "A lillle ginger ale, and make it snappy," John put in.

Kline brought them, arranging ihem in an orderly row on his old-fashioned Iray. He slopped aghasl as he saw what they did. They dumped the ice cream into the soda wateri a ihing which had never been done before. They flavored some of it wilh strawberries. Then they tried pineapple.

And they said it was good. The next time they came in they asked for a motley assortmenl again, and mixed their own just as they bad before. other patrons were aghasl ai the two put some ice cream into coffee, added some ginger ale snd fruits, and lopped it oft with a dash of cinnamon. Somebody at the next table called a waiter. "Please bring me what those boys are drinking." he said.

Somebody else repeated the order. i So it went. Day after day. Soda water wilh ice cream in it became the rage nt the a i After a while aristocrats from Washington Square and lower Fifth Avenue itarled to send their footmen over lo Kline's for sodas. Bottled soda water, which had to be opened with a screwdriver, did duly for the sodas.

Il had been developed in colonial times. A Centennial Exposition was held in Philadelphia in 1876. Two years before that Robert M. Green had exhibited his soda fountain apparatus at Franklin Institute. From that lime on he was in the market to sell the fountains.

When the Centennial came along he rented a space to exhibit his apparatus and sell cream soda, jusl exactly as people rent spaces today, at the counly fair. wasn'l selling ice cream soda. cream soda, a flavored, carbonated i wilh one or two teaspoonfuls of cow's cream. People were fond of the drink. They bought it in large quantilics.

One day Green ran short of cream. Not far away was a man who had a concession lo sell ice cream. Green Iried lo buy some plain cieam from ihe man. He didn't have any, either. But he made a valuable suggestion.

He lold the soda man lo take some ice cream, lei it melt, and put il in the soda walcr. Green did. It hit ihe' spot. The demand for the new drink was so great that there wasn't lime to let die ice cream melt. Therefore, it was in the glasses as regular, solid ice cream.

The crowd held a regular jubilee. Ice cream sodas had started in earnest. It was a sundaes and sodas had become popular that someone discovered thai instead of decorating ice cream with a blanket of chocolate and nuls and fruits and whipped cream il was possible to freeze the cream wilh fruits and flavorings in it. The list on the menu card grew longer. People began lo wonder which kind they should lake, inslead of depending on a flavored blanket to disguise the ice cream.

Elaborate sundaes started lo disappear. The men al the fountain! rejoiced. They were harder to serve anyway. But ke cream sodas didn't lose any customers. Especially the chocolate ones.

Not even when milk ihaket and other drinks lUrted to appear. iCooyrlght, 1031, by EveryWeek Magazine--Prlnte-1 In U. 3..