It seems that it should still be there. That Old Fashioned Ice Cream store on the west side of the Square harbors fond memories for those of us who were teens during the 50s.
It was recently at Henry and Joyce Blumer's house where Henry and I were rehearsing some songs on our accordions for Swissfest. As Joyce served up some snacks, we started reminiscing about life in the 50s and the kids we went to school with. Henry's neighbors west of town included Henry Tschanz, Jeanette Wald, and Werner Vogel. My neighbors north of town included Bobby Brunkow, Yvonne Lehr, Joe Donny, a kid a few years ahead of us, Bobby Rieder, and Henry's aunt and uncle Alice and Hank Leuzinger.
Memories of the 50s prompted Joyce to break out a color photo of a bunch of kids hanging around in a soda fountain. The picture from a national magazine was instantly recognizable as vintage 1950s - guys wearing letter jackets with M's on them, girls in saddle shoes, teens milling around, ice cream on the counter. Yup, traditional 50s - anywhere USA.
"Take a closer look," said Joyce.
Wow. Ya gotta be kidding. There were Monroe High School pennants on the wall- those M's on the jackets were Monroe High School M's. And the scene was shot at Monroe's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shop. When did this happen and how did Monroe make this national mag?
Joyce asked me if I recognized any of those kids. I didn't, and concluded that since I didn't recall the splash the picture must have made at the time, it must have been late 50s after I had left Monroe. I had to get to the bottom of this fascinating deal.
Fate works in strange ways. The following Sunday at the breakfast hosted by the Green County Historical Society, I spotted John and Donna Glynn and Ron and Jennifer Spielman. These history buffs must know about that classic picture. Sure enough, they knew about the picture and assured me there were some copies floating around, including one in the M Room of Monroe High School, and that most of the kids are identified.
A few days later at breakfast at the Red Apple, I run into Dave Babler, Arlie Erickson, and Judge Beer stoking himself up to put his shoulder to the wheel of justice. Fate again - I mention that photo to Dave, whose grandfather ran another classic soda fountain, the Chocolate Shop on the north side of the Square. Not only does Dave know about that photo, he has a copy of it prominently displayed in his office. That's not all - Dave's wife, Janeen, is in that photo. Other locals I should have recognized include Don Witt and Heidi Studer Anderegg. It was the Sept. 27, 1957 issue of the Saturday Evening Post - a major national magazine of that era.
Teens of today have a lot of stuff and a lot of opportunities that we didn't have. But we had some things that today's teens don't have and can't miss because they never had them - like the classic soda fountain.
Real life "soda jerks" made sodas that consisted of several scoops of ice cream served in a tall glass with tangy and fizzy flavored liquid - lime, root beer, strawberry, and so on. Sodas were served with a long-handled spoon to eat the ice cream and a straw for the liquid part.
Joyce reminded me of phosphates. I had forgotten all about them. I don't know how they were made, but they, too, were tangy and fizzy - really good on a hot day.
The cherry Cokes were the real thing - served from a fountain with cherry syrup mixed in - a far superior refreshment than today's inferior imitation of cherry coke in a can.
Best of all were the malted milks - the real thing. High quality ice cream and whole milk along with chocolate syrup were placed in a heavy steel mixing cup. The key was a generous scoop of malted milk powder - not malt syrup - powder. The steel cup was placed on a mixer - usually Hamilton Beech. It was best if it wasn't mixed too well, leaving some lumps of ice cream and the grainy taste of the malt power.
The malt was served in a heavy tall glass. There would be an ample portion remaining in the steel mixing cup. While sipping the malt from the glass with a straw, moisture would condense on the cold steel cup holding the remaining malt. The moisture would run down the steel cup in rivulets as you anticipated another serving from the ice-cold cup.
Okay, you can still get a malt today. But it will probably be served in a paper cup, and there won't be any second portion to enjoy. That solid glass and steel cup were symbolic of the authenticity of the malted milk of yore - in stark contrast to what is served up today.
Soft serve ice cream or what passes for it, paper containers, shakes as opposed to real malts, no genuine sodas, no phosphates, no real cherry Cokes - what gives? We can communicate instantly with colleagues on the other side of the planet, send men to the moon, and take pictures of far reaches of the universe, but some simple pleasures are gone forever.
That photo from the Post remains a classic symbol of a bygone era - like the Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shop in that photo - gone but not forgotten.
- Monroe resident John Waelti is a 1954 graduate of MHS. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
It was recently at Henry and Joyce Blumer's house where Henry and I were rehearsing some songs on our accordions for Swissfest. As Joyce served up some snacks, we started reminiscing about life in the 50s and the kids we went to school with. Henry's neighbors west of town included Henry Tschanz, Jeanette Wald, and Werner Vogel. My neighbors north of town included Bobby Brunkow, Yvonne Lehr, Joe Donny, a kid a few years ahead of us, Bobby Rieder, and Henry's aunt and uncle Alice and Hank Leuzinger.
Memories of the 50s prompted Joyce to break out a color photo of a bunch of kids hanging around in a soda fountain. The picture from a national magazine was instantly recognizable as vintage 1950s - guys wearing letter jackets with M's on them, girls in saddle shoes, teens milling around, ice cream on the counter. Yup, traditional 50s - anywhere USA.
"Take a closer look," said Joyce.
Wow. Ya gotta be kidding. There were Monroe High School pennants on the wall- those M's on the jackets were Monroe High School M's. And the scene was shot at Monroe's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shop. When did this happen and how did Monroe make this national mag?
Joyce asked me if I recognized any of those kids. I didn't, and concluded that since I didn't recall the splash the picture must have made at the time, it must have been late 50s after I had left Monroe. I had to get to the bottom of this fascinating deal.
Fate works in strange ways. The following Sunday at the breakfast hosted by the Green County Historical Society, I spotted John and Donna Glynn and Ron and Jennifer Spielman. These history buffs must know about that classic picture. Sure enough, they knew about the picture and assured me there were some copies floating around, including one in the M Room of Monroe High School, and that most of the kids are identified.
A few days later at breakfast at the Red Apple, I run into Dave Babler, Arlie Erickson, and Judge Beer stoking himself up to put his shoulder to the wheel of justice. Fate again - I mention that photo to Dave, whose grandfather ran another classic soda fountain, the Chocolate Shop on the north side of the Square. Not only does Dave know about that photo, he has a copy of it prominently displayed in his office. That's not all - Dave's wife, Janeen, is in that photo. Other locals I should have recognized include Don Witt and Heidi Studer Anderegg. It was the Sept. 27, 1957 issue of the Saturday Evening Post - a major national magazine of that era.
Teens of today have a lot of stuff and a lot of opportunities that we didn't have. But we had some things that today's teens don't have and can't miss because they never had them - like the classic soda fountain.
Real life "soda jerks" made sodas that consisted of several scoops of ice cream served in a tall glass with tangy and fizzy flavored liquid - lime, root beer, strawberry, and so on. Sodas were served with a long-handled spoon to eat the ice cream and a straw for the liquid part.
Joyce reminded me of phosphates. I had forgotten all about them. I don't know how they were made, but they, too, were tangy and fizzy - really good on a hot day.
The cherry Cokes were the real thing - served from a fountain with cherry syrup mixed in - a far superior refreshment than today's inferior imitation of cherry coke in a can.
Best of all were the malted milks - the real thing. High quality ice cream and whole milk along with chocolate syrup were placed in a heavy steel mixing cup. The key was a generous scoop of malted milk powder - not malt syrup - powder. The steel cup was placed on a mixer - usually Hamilton Beech. It was best if it wasn't mixed too well, leaving some lumps of ice cream and the grainy taste of the malt power.
The malt was served in a heavy tall glass. There would be an ample portion remaining in the steel mixing cup. While sipping the malt from the glass with a straw, moisture would condense on the cold steel cup holding the remaining malt. The moisture would run down the steel cup in rivulets as you anticipated another serving from the ice-cold cup.
Okay, you can still get a malt today. But it will probably be served in a paper cup, and there won't be any second portion to enjoy. That solid glass and steel cup were symbolic of the authenticity of the malted milk of yore - in stark contrast to what is served up today.
Soft serve ice cream or what passes for it, paper containers, shakes as opposed to real malts, no genuine sodas, no phosphates, no real cherry Cokes - what gives? We can communicate instantly with colleagues on the other side of the planet, send men to the moon, and take pictures of far reaches of the universe, but some simple pleasures are gone forever.
That photo from the Post remains a classic symbol of a bygone era - like the Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shop in that photo - gone but not forgotten.
- Monroe resident John Waelti is a 1954 graduate of MHS. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
