Why not?
I love ice cream and it seems most other Iowans have that similar feeling. In fact, shouldn't we think that our state deserves consideration for being the ICE CREAM CAPITOL of the nation?
Hey, these days, there's Blue Bunny, situated in LeMars, which has asserted itself as one of the most popular brands. Its a huge operation which seems to be spreading its product many miles further from the home base each and every year.
But hey, let's get real.....and maybe a tiny bit prejudice..... and compare Blue Bunny with our formerly owned and operated Boone Iowa Boyd's Dairy ice cream. Sure, they have a much bigger operation and seem to "own" the current ice cream world, at least, locally.
Taste, itself, is important, however, and there are still many Boone area citizens who will say, "There'll NEVER be ice cream like Boyd's again."
A copy of a story that appeared in an Ames Historical Society newsletter, dated the summer of 2011, passed through several hands recently and finally, John Kueck, BHS-61, sent me a copy. It was so good, authored by Mary E. (Meg) Speer, with assistance from Kathy Svec, that I'm going to take the liberty of sharing some of the best of.....Remembering the Cow: Boyd's Dairy 1941-86.
Some of you viewers, more from a certain age group than others, are really going to enjoy these memories. I promise.
Brothers Jim and Gene Boyd opened their dairy in Boone in 1941, bottling milk and cream and making natural, 12% butterfat ice cream while also offering butter and cottage cheese. While both served in World War II, family members kept the business operating.
In 1961, Jim bought Gene's share of the business and in 1967, expanded to Ames, with a store downtown and another in campustown.
Starting with a 2 1/2 gallon ice cream freezer and one store in Boone, the Boyd's, eventually, owned five stores and a continuous freezer capable of turning out 150 gallons of ice cream an hour.
Boyd's pioneered unusual flavors and regularly offered a selection from about 50 flavors. Jim Boyd INVENTED BUBBLE GUM ICE CREAM.
My memory doesn't allow me to remember the specific program but in the 40's there was a very popular (remember this was 80 years ago.....no TV and way before today's media crunch) 24-hour news type station that everybody listened too nationwide. The story of Bubble Gum ice cream was a featured subject one time and National Pubic Radio also interviewed Jim Boyd about the product.
It's said that Jim once made five gallons of Rhubarb Sherbet "more or less as a joke" but that flavor "hit it big" and was produced each spring. One fan, would take nine gallons of it home to San Francisco every year and invite former Iowans over for a party. Boyd's also introduced dill pickle ice cream at one of Boone's Crazy Daze events.
Chocolate Almond, Oreo Crunch and Tin Roof were other favorites that Boyd's probably invented. In fact, the Kornerman is thinking it was Tin Roof, rather than the sherbet, that got the national radio attention.
Jim's daughter, Linda Boyd Bravard, BHS-61, was quoted in the story as saying, "we never entered our ice cream in any competition. We thought our customers were the best judges of our product."
Jim died in 1982 and Linda moved back to Boone to run the stores.
Boyd's was one of the last dairies to sell milk in glass bottles. Then, came a time, when those bottles were no longer available for purchase.
Boyd's, with three stores in Boone, north side, south side and in West Boone, plus two Ames stores closed in 1986.
The Kornerman remembers many of the former employees but I don't dare start trying to name them. Let's just remember that many, many citizens, in the hundreds, were Boyd employees through the years and have many tales to tell about their experiences.
Maybe we'll have the opportunity to share some of them in coming editions.
P.S. Blue Bunny is getting more into the soft serve line now. The first I've tried is chocolate and its very smooth and good. Still, my favorite is peppermint and darn it, its usually only available at Christmas time. Although, Hickory Park has a connection. They seem to have it available all the time.
K-----K
A note was received from Larry Ford, BHS-59, and wife, Nancy,........"enjoy reading the Korner. Keep it up."
Vern Modeland, BHS-50, also had some contact with great golfer Arnold Palmer. That was during the 1970's when Palmer made trips into Wichita in the Lear 24 he owned. Vern said, "During that time, he participated in a record-setting around the world flight for Learjet, making every take off and landing of the speedy circumnavigation himself."
K-----K
Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email your stories/memories/comments/death notices......
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.
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