Son Jon and Childhood Memories of Ice Cream

Son Jon was involved today representing Mr. Lydecker and his store during Civil War time back in Virginia. He wrote the following of his Childhood memories of our making ice cream. "Years ago, I think I must have been about 11 or 12 years old, in 5th grade, I began to deliver the "Washington Daily News." With one of my first checks, I purchased a hand-crank ice cream maker. On any

particular Sunday afternoon, my mom would mix up "the custard" and my dad would freeze milk containers of ice. We'll set up the ice cream maker in the backyard, my dad would get out the burlap bag and get his ax and frozen milk containers. He'd bust up the ice and scatter the ice in the wooden bucket, surrounding the metal container, containing my mom's custard mix.

Then the fun began. We'd take turns in my family of 3 boys (I have two older brothers) and 1 girl and my mom and dad.My dad kept up the layer of ice. Not to forget putting the kosher rock salt on the ice periodically to keep it really cold (below 32 degrees.) We'd crank and crank, as steady and even as possible. Didn't seem like we were making any progress for quite a while. Seems like about 45 minutes or so, it would really get hard to crank the handle. My dad usually took over at the end to put the last really hard turns on the

handle and to make sure it was ready.

Then he would take off the handle, pack the ice cream maker with the rest of the busted up ice with salt carefully spread, being careful not to get any salt into the ice cream. He'd lay the burlap bag over the ice cream maker. It would really set up well. We'd have a picnic

of hamburgers and hot dogs and other great food that my mom would make. My dad would do the burgers and dogs. With the completion of the main course of dinner, we'd get the ice cream.

The unveiling. Off with the burlap. Brushing off of the ice. Opening of the metal container. Wow. Fresh homemade ice cream. Now the bowls and spoons from mom and dad would pull out the dasher (the inner workings of the maker). He's scrap off the ice cream on the dasher back into the metal container. It was a lucky person who got to lick off the remaining ice cream off the dasher."