Jeez, it’s warm out and, in theory at least, it’s only going to get warmer. Soon we’ll hear the haunting (but mostly annoying) siren’s call of Mister Softee, which not only warns of an impending zombie-esque horde of children but on some sort of subliminal level, the song tells us that spring is here and it’s finally warm enough to indulge in ice cream without getting frostbite on the inside of our bodies. But who knew Philly is up to its gut in ice cream history?
Before Mister Softee became the largest franchiser of soft ice cream trucks, he was rolling around West Philly handing out green ice cream on St. Patricks day. (Suppose that explains the spelling…) Alas, Softee is not the only frozen confection to come up in our gritty city…Jack and Jill is pretty much our Hall and Oates of novelty ice cream. The company was started by a sweet old man named Mickey Schwartz who sold ice cream out of a wooden box he carried over his soldier. Nowadays, Schwartz would most likely be investigated as some sort of predator, but that wasn’t to be his fate. The company soon created a vending machine division and quickly grew to the frozen novelty ice cream giant that we know and love today.Let’s not forget Bassets. This Philadelphia based ice cream company has some serious roots. Bassets has was first sold on 5th and Market in 1885. Within ten years, they opened a stall at the Reading Terminal Market and set up production in the basement. Bassets has since expanded and it’s currently available all over the beautiful tri-state area.So next time you’re reading a book (or doing whatever the hell it is you do) and that god awful ice cream anthem penetrates your blissful bubble of peace, remember that the little ditty is a part of our great city’s great junk food legacy.
“his soldier”
Really?
Don’t forget Breyers, which used to have a big factory where the USP campus currently sits.
for those of us born and raised in philly, mr softee’s song will always be a happy sound. i used to love hearing it when i was drifting off to sleep as a kid.
abbott’s was another philly-based ice cream maker. my great-grandfather was working there when the depression hit. they didn’t lay a single person off, but they cut back everyone’s hours (he went from working 5 to 4 day weeks). i think they are hqed somewhere outside the city now….