Ding, ding, ding. Here comes the Ice cream van. In my youth, my favorite was the Klondike bar. What was /were yours? I

[debm55]

also have to add the drum sticks.

[C_U_L8R]

1. I like a good ice cream sandwich

but the crumbly Chocolate Eclair and Strawberry Shortcake bars were always a treat.

[debm55]

3. Yes they were, C_U_L8R. I enjoyed the Strawberry Shortcake bars, when I could get one. We were on the end on IceCream

man's trail. Thank you,

[a kennedy]

23. Love the ice cream sandwiches......buy them in the half size and they're perfect!!!!

Yummmmm

[NEOH]

2. Orange & Vanilla Push-Ups

They were in a paper cylinder with a wooden stick you used to push the ice cream up as you ate them.

[debm55]

4. Oh yes, Thank you NEOH. I liked the orange ones. Yummy.

[Blue_playwright]

12. orange flintstone ones!

[debm55]

13. HAHAHAHHAH. Thank you very much, Blue_playwright. They were good.

[thucythucy]

6. Strawberry shortcake

Vanilla ice cream with nut bits and strawberry flavored chunks on the outside, with a jam center, all on a stick.

[debm55]

7. Yum, the strawberry shortcake was so good. Thank you thucythucy. Now I want one.

[WmChris]

8. Fudgecicles

[debm55]

10. Thank you very much for sharing , WmChris. they were good.

[2naSalit]

9. I liked several things...

Dreamcicle
Klondike bar
Drumstick
Orange or red popcicle

Sometimes an ice cream sandwich.

[debm55]

11. What a selection, Thank you for posting your favorites. I remember the blue popsicle. Too

[Kali]

14. MOM MOM MOM MOM oh MOM

ICE CREAM TRUCK! ICE CREAM TRUCK! CAN I HAVE A QUARTER?! PLEASE OH PLEASE!!!

if I got the quarter it was a bomb pop, if just a dime it was a regular popsicle - cherry, root beer, or maybe orange cream?

[debm55]

16. HAAHAHHHAHA. Thank you very much for sharing, Kali. I remember those tri-colored ones. Especially around July 4th/

[JoseBalow]

43. CTRL-F "bomb pop"

[S/V Loner]

15. In my youth?

I eat a chocolate chocolate Klondike bar every night. I’m 72. lol

[debm55]

17. Great, S/V Loner. That is terrific. Does it have the polar bear on the foil wrapper?

[S/V Loner]

22. Let me check...

Yes it does.

[debm55]

25. Thank you S/V Loner

[GreenWave]

18. Mr. Softee's chocolate ice cream

[debm55]

19. Oh wow. Mister Softee, made sundaes and milkshakes. I wish there was one in my neighborhood back then and now.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

70. VERY SAME HERE@!

Just that PICTURE MAKES ME HAPPY!

[justaprogressive]

20. my braces would always hurt

Dove Bars....'til I discovered a Black and White Shake!!

Heaven on Earth!

[debm55]

21. Wonderful. Dove bars are very good, but a Black and white shake is tops. thank you justaprogressive.

[johnp3907]

24. Yeah, Klondikes are pretty much perfect!

[debm55]

26. Yes they are. Thank you very much, john3907

[mwmisses4289]

27. I would switch it up, I would try almost anything.

Favorites were cream/dreamsicles, fudgesicles, orange push-ups and ice cream bars. I know there were others, but i can't think of them off the top of my head, lol.

[debm55]

51. Wow, that's the way to go, Thank you very much, mwmisses4289

[Mad_Dem_X]

28. Toasted Almond Bar!

[Ritabert]

33. I liked that too. Slight cherry flavor too.

[debm55]

53. Oh yes, Thank you Mad_Dem_X. They didn't have a variety of items. But when they had this, I bought it.

[NNadir]

29. When my Dad was on strike one summer, to put food on the table...

...he drove a Good Humor ice cream truck with the manual bell.

I was probably about seven years old. My parents kept from me the realities of the struggle: I certainly didn't know until many years after her death that my mother pawned her wedding ring, but got it out of hock when the strike was settled. (My wife wears that ring now.)

Anyway, broke as he was, my father's last stop with the ice cream truck was always our house, and there was always a free vanilla ice cream sandwich for his sons.

I love them to this day.

My old man was a strange bird, but I never think of him without wanting to weep at how much I miss him, and at how he taught me to be a man. I tell my sons all about him.

[3catwoman3]

41. I think you must have been a writer in a past life. You express yourself...

...so eloquently.

[NNadir]

57. Thank for your kind words. I'd like to think I'm something of a writer...

...in this life, having written portions of novels that I abandoned as life intervened.

I am an old man now but just for the hell of it, since I haven't retired, I'm putting in a resume as an associate editor for a the news arm of a professional organization for which I have a passion. I don't expect to be hired for it and frankly I don't need the work, but it would be something I love.

[debm55]

55. Thank you for sharing your post with us, NNadir. It is so wonderful when your dad did that.

[rsdsharp]

30. We didn't have an ice cream man driving through the neighborhood.

We had a creamery where my older sister worked when she was in high school. They made all their own ice cream by hand.

I used to get a licorice cone. It looked like cement, but tasted great.

[debm55]

56. Thank you very much rsdsharp for sharing. I have never heard of a licorice cone. Sounds, great.

Last edited Thu May 28, 2026, 08:52 PM - Edit history (1)

[rsdsharp]

67. Licorice ice cream in a cone.

[debm55]

68. My bad. thank you rsdsharp

[MiHale]

31. Choco Taco...that was way back then...

Wonder if they have a Ghost Pepper Choco Taco these days?

[Ritabert]

32. I think Choco Taco was discontinued.

[MiHale]

34. Probably cuz they didn't keep up...

Waffle cone folded in the shape of a taco holding a vanilla caramel ice cream flavored lightly with Gochujang covered in a dark chocolate
Whatta dessert.

[debm55]

58. Thank you very much , MiHale. I don't think our Ice cream truck carried those, but they sure sound great.

[applegrove]

35. Orange Creamsicle

[debm55]

59. Oh yes, Thank you very much, applegrove. I liked the strawberry ones too.

[Figarosmom]

36. The push up

[debm55]

60. Thank you for sharing the push up with us, Figarosmom. Great.

[LogDog75]

37. Orange creamsicles

[debm55]

50. Oh yes, I remember them. Thank you LogDog75 for sharing the orange creamsicles.

[jgo]

38. Thanks to those who posted

I had forgotten about chocolate eclair ice cream bars on a stick, and push ups, among other varieties that have been shared. Thanks for bringing those memories back.

[debm55]

49. Thank you very much,jgo from all of us

[ProfessorGAC]

39. Heath Ice Cream Bars

My dad worked at a big dairy, so he got ice cream & confections at cost.
We always had Heath bars, Fudgcicles, Dreamcicles, and Ice Cream sandwiches in the freezer.
Whole family of ice cream addicts.

[debm55]

48. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you very much for sharing, ProfessorGAC. That is great!

[TVguyCards]

40. The huge cookie sandwiches

The name however escapes me

[debm55]

47. Thank you, TVguyCards. I remember them, but like you, I can't remember the name.

[TVguyCards]

63. lol funny how that works

[u4ic]

42. Buried Treasure from Dickie Dee

Last edited Wed May 27, 2026, 10:18 PM - Edit history (1)

It was orange, kind of like sherbet more than a creamsicle, and there was a character on the plastic stick once you finished it. It was fun to collect all the sticks.

There was lots of tasty competition around, like my mom's floats made with cream soda or grape crush and vanilla ice cream, or grape ice cream, which you could get from the corner store. A treat is a treat for a kid and always appreciated, but I much preferred the latter two.

We didn't have vans till maybe the 90's? It was always these up until then:



Young teens definitely could both make a half decent amount of money during the summer, and get into great shape riding these!

[debm55]

46. Wow, that is great, I have seen those before. Thank you for sharing with us, u4ic.

[Emile]

44. I loved the Orange Push-ups

[debm55]

45. Thank you very much for sharing with us, Emile. I remember them too

[The Blue Flower]

52. Good Humor

Strawberry shortcake bars and orange pushups.

[debm55]

61. Thank you very much, The Blue Flower. The strawberry shortcake bars was my second choice. Loved them

[pdxflyboy]

54. In my neighborhood in Norwalk, CT, the Good Humor Man was the go to............

Just like C U L8TR, I loved the Strawberry Shortcake and the Chocolate Eclair ice cream bars. OOhh debm55, you are bringing back so many great memories!

[debm55]

62. I liked those too. Thank you , pdxflyboy for your kind words.

[Rob H.]

64. Bomb Pops

The original--I just Googled and it looks like there are other flavors now, too.

[debm55]

65. Wow, there are new flavors??? Thank you Rob H. I think I will check that out.

[electric_blue68]

66. Good Humor: Chocolate Eclair, or Candy Center from the truck. Or Mister Softee - chocolate w the dark chocolate coating

Seems GH sold off their trucks in the '70s.

[debm55]

69. OHHHHH. That sounds good. We didn't have Good Humor trucks around here. Looks like I missed some tasty treats. TY

[electric_blue68]

71. They were pretty tasty; otherwise I wouldn't have bothered!😄

While not childhood ice cream.pops
I fould this interesting (having thought to look it up)

Haagrn Daz was invented in The Bronx in 1960!: Who knew! And we lived much closer to The Bronx in Washington Heights. But never heard of them till later.
Their first store was in 1976! and, of courset, they l expanded over the decades.

Then from Wikipedia *my underline

Frusen Glädjé (often mistaken for "frozen glazen&quot was famously introduced in NYC around 1980, arriving just in time to fiercely compete with Häagen-Dazs in the premium gourmet ice cream market.The launch sparked a legendary marketing clash in New York. Because Frusen Glädjé marketed heavily on a Swedish-sounding name and Nordic imagery, Häagen-Dazs—a company completely fabricated by a Bronx native to sound Danish—sued the newcomer for copying their European marketing strategy. The lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful, leaving Frusen Glädjé to claim its spot in local gourmet shops.

I do remember seeing FG early on.

And finally Ben & Jerry's introduced themselves in NYC sometime in ?mid 1980's. They held a festival in Central Park.
If you wrote a few choices of social activism postcards (tents set up) you could turn them in, get a ticket and then get free mini cups of their ice cream.

They had a inflatable balloon that said:
"When you meet God he will ask two things: "did you help my children", and "did you have fun".
Since I was raised ro try and help others, and also to have fun- this appealed to me.

[debm55]

72. Great post, electric_blue68

[jmowreader]

73. What's an ice cream van?

That's what I would have said as a kid. NO ONE in St. Maries, ID, ever even thought about starting one. I don't remember them selling ice cream bars at gas stations either - if you wanted ice cream bars you had to go to the Thrift Store (it was a brand of supermarket that doesn't exist anymore; they're probably something else now) or the IGA and buy a whole box. I mean, yeah now I know what they are but we didn't have them where I grew up.

Quick question: were ice cream vans the first kind of food truck?

Okay, back to the question: the best thing is the chocolate coated frozen banana. Every year in St. Maries there's a big celebration called Paul Bunyan Days, and every year the people who owned the Thrift Store would put whole peeled bananas on sticks, freeze them and dip them in melted chocolate. This had to be done by a grocery store because they sold so many, only a supermarket backroom freezer was big enough to hold them all. Now that the Thrift Store is gone, one of the other supermarkets in town (there are currently two) does it.

[debm55]

74. It was a white van that had a variety of ice cream and popsicles. inside. Ours had a man with a matching one shirt and

pants and a black bow tie inside selling goods inside. Sorry your neighborhood didn't have one, jmowreader. It was part of growing up , hearing the music or bell and running home to get change to buy a mouth watering hot summer day snack. You are welcome.