"QUANTUM SHOT" #748
Link
- article by Simon Rose and
Avi Abrams
"Stop Me & Buy Some!"... "Often licked, never beaten!"...
Ah, ice cream trucks. What great memories they represent from so many
people’s childhood years! The sound of those distinctive tunes and melodic
chimes are still guaranteed to send shivers down the spine even today.
(images credit:
I Love Lucies,
Thomas Ackroyd,
3,
4)
The original idea of the ice cream truck was relatively simple, that the
delicious tasty treats of the ice cream parlor are coming directly to you.
We still see them during the summer months at public events, parks,
beaches anywhere where crowds of people are likely to gather, as well as
driving down residential streets hoping to entice customers. These
examples here at Dark Roasted Blend may not be the cream of the crop, but
they’re certainly some pretty cool pictures.
(Shane McGill of Muscatine with his 1957 ice cream truck,
more info; right image via)
(1954 "Good Humor" ice cream truck, image credit:
Jack Snell)
Very cute 1954 Morris ice cream van, Plymouth Barbican:
(images credit:
Richard & Gill Long)
Fully restored British 1962 Commer Karrier BF van (more
info):
(image
via)
In the early 1920’s, before ice cream trucks and vans, the first
ice cream bicycles appeared in London. The Walls ice cream company
expanded their manufacturing facilities in 1924 and invested in a fleet of
tricycles. Annual sales in 1927 are said to have been over £440,000, or
$US 700,000 at today’s exchange rate, but still a huge sum at the time.
(images via 1,
2)
Walker Electric Vehicle Co. built electric and gasoline-electric hybrid
trucks in Chicago from around 1918 until at least 1942. This
Walker Electric Truck, had a top speed of 12 mph when empty and 9
mph when fully loaded, even with ice cream:
(see the full-size image
here, via
Shorpy)
This Good Humor truck (left image below) dates from the 1920’s and
may have guaranteed a slightly faster delivery of your ice cream treats:
(images via)
A couple more of Good Humor trucks:
(images via)
Here we have a fleet of ice cream trucks:
(image via)
A few of 1920s ice cream trucks from the Ken Goudy Collection:
(images via)
A blast from the past maybe, but that ice cream bar still looks very
appealing... plus, ice cream men get to serve ladies first! -
(left photo courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American
History, right photo
via)
This restored model dates from 1931 (and it is for sale, see
here):
(images via
1,
2)
During World War II, ice cream in the UK was considered to be a luxury and
the country’s resources were devoted to the war effort. Manufacturing
resumed after the war and ice cream trucks became a familiar sight in the
UK and North America in the 1950’s and into the 1960’s. This is the
original 1953 Liberty ice Cream truck:
(image
via)
This is a 1959 Mr. Softee ice cream truck (left), and the die-cast toy
made by Corgi (right):
(images via
1, 2)
Early ice cream trucks weren’t as sophisticated as they are today. Back
then most families didn’t own a freezer and the trucks sold simple ice
cream. Once freezers became common household items, ice cream trucks began
selling more specialized novelty ice cream items, such as ice cream bars
and popsicles. The vehicle’s refrigeration system consisted of large
blocks of dry ice. This entailed the engine being turned off when
customers were actually buying their ice cream. A hand-driven crank was
usually employed to operate the truck’s familiar chimes or music. Here is
the 1956 Ford F-100 Good Humor Ice Cream Truck, seen in Gateway Colorado
Auto Museum:
(image
via)
This Good Humor 1966 model still looks in pretty good shape:
(image credit:
James Benetzky)
1959 Morris ice cream van, seen in Northampton:
(image credit:
Leicester Vehicle Photography)
This Divco truck apparently dates from 1950. It was restored as a fully
functional ice cream truck, with heavy duty electric systems so the
freezers can still be running when the vehicle’s parked:
(images
via)
You’d certainly see this one heading your way down the street with its ice
cream, frozen treats, milk shakes and cold drinks in Sydney, Australia:
(image
via)
Also from Australia, this is an interesting streamlined truck "Clipper"
for Peters Ice Cream, 1953:
(image
via)
A well protected ice cream truck, just in case customers can’t control
their cravings, perhaps? (made by Banksy, and spotted in Glastonbury):
(image
via)
This one, spotted at the Sandbach Transport Festival, looks a little
cramped for the driver:
(image credit:
Zan Wheelock)
Cute ice cream truck spotted in Utrecht, Holland:
(image credit:
Rudy Roels)
Check out the Ice Princess, hard to resist of a hot summer day (left)...
and the one on the right claims to be "often licked, never beaten":
(images via
1,
2)
How about this little three-wheeled one? (left image) ...Italy is famous
for its ice cream and there are still a few scooters making the deliveries
there (right):
(images via
1,
2)
We mentioned at the beginning of the article about the bikes and tricycles
that were used as the first ice cream distribution vehicles. Today, in
some parts of Southeast Asia, ice cream is still frequently often sold
from modified motorcycles with attached freezer sidecars. This one’s from
Cambodia:
(image
via)
Here is the ice cream "truck" in Astana, Kazakhstan:
(image
via)
Hot Rod Ice Cream Trucks
"Good Human!.. I Scream!" - more
info:
(images
via)
...and another one, 1947 Ford half-ton pickup conversion, spotted in
Newport, WA (more
info):
(images
via)
CONTINUE TO "STEAM BUSES & TRUCKS!" ->
ALSO CHECK OUT OUR WEIRD AUTO CATEGORY ->
Avi Abrams is the creator, writer, and owner of Dark Roasted
Blend;
Simon Rose is the
author of science fiction and fantasy novels for children, including
The Alchemist's Portrait,
The Sorcerer's Letterbox,
The Clone Conspiracy,
The Emerald Curse,
The Heretic's Tomb
and
The Doomsday Mask
and
The Time Camera.
|
4 Comments:
Wonderful! By the time I was a kid in the 70s in the UK the scene was very homogenous, it was all about the Bedford CF (as chosen by Banksy - and The KLF) - even a Ford Transit ice cream van was a relatively uncommon sight.
(N)ice!! I lived for a few years in Utrecht, and often saw that cute icecream truck, it's right on the middle of a bridge below the Dom-tower. Supercool to see it here on DRB!
Mr Whippy vans were common in Melbourne during the 1960s, but there must have been a dispute over naming rights. The local Mr Whippy became John Creamy (I think) but kept that pink and white colour scheme.
There's still one rolling around Perth in pink and white today. I think he's stalking me - first I'd hear that damn Greensleeves around the neighbourhood at home, then he started cruising the industrial area where I worked. Would he go away if I bought an icecream?
WOW does this take me back... :) Getting Ice Creams from the old Commer van that used to park outside my school... Those were the days... :)
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