This too is Yonkers–by Eric Schoen
I received many comments regarding my article about Soft Serve vs. Hard Ice Cream before the start of Summer, Memorial Day weekend. With the death this week of Curtis Blake, a founder of the Friendly’s Ice Cream empire at age 102 (his brother Presley is still alive at age 104) I thought I would continue the discussion about Ice Cream and other summer time treats this week.
One reader said she always enjoyed the ‘brown pieces’ on a Carvel cone. Brown pieces? We use to call them chocolate sprinkles. There were chocolate sprinkles and rainbow, multicolored sprinkles dipped or spooned onto the soft serve ice cream.
Now some folks call sprinkles nonpareils. Technically Nonpareils are dark chocolate discs that are sprinkled with small, white candy balls. The name actually refers to the small candy balls and is from the French word for “without equal.’ Some call sprinkles ‘jimmies.’ In England they are referred to as ‘Hundreds and thousands.’ The Dutch call them ‘ hagelslag.’
At my Synagogue, Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El over the weekend, as part of a ‘Food Truck’ event there was an old fashioned Good Humor Ice Cream truck (from Yonkers) serving favorites old and new. Now you could get a SpongeBob SquarePants ice or a Magnum Ice Cream bar, but many people like me (a little cheat on the diet) sticked (no pun intended) with the Good Humor classics.
Dad loved his toasted almond ice cream bar, vanilla ice cream surrounding a toasted almond (light orange in color) core smothered in bits of toasted almond. Still my favorite too! The truck had chocolate eclair bars (chocolate ice cream covered with vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate with crunchy pieces on top and the the strawberry shortcake bar, strawberry ice cream covered with vanilla ice cream dipped in strawberry cake pieces.
I remember one of the bars (I thought it was the chocolate eclair) with a hard chocolate candy core in the middle. I’m sure my good readers will fill me in on what that was! The truck had easily over 50 choices including the original ice cream bar bathed in chocolate, the vanilla king cone (sugar cone with vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate syrup and nuts) and the King Cone, the same thing with a combination of vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Let’s not forget the simple vanilla ice cream sandwich, vanilla ice cream between chocolate cookies or my new favorite, the birthday cake dessert bar which tastes like a vanilla frosted, golden cake birthday cake.
So back to Friendly’s. There were 2 Friendly’s in southern Westchester, one in Yonkers on Tuckahoe Road in the Sprain Brook Shopping Center and one on Central Avenue in Hartsdale/White Plains. Mom loved her Fribble, a thick milk shake served in a tall glass. I usually went with a metal dish of hard ice cream. Friendly’s also served diner fare like grilled cheese and hamburgers loaded on a plate with French Fries. Usually with a cup of soup.
Friendly’s often stayed open late at night to catch the after bar crowd. Or when you were in the mood for a ‘WattaMelon’ Roll. I didn’t spell it wrong. It’s prounounced “Watta-melon!” This summer seasonal favorite is made with refreshing watermelon and lemon sherbet with rich chocolate chip seeds.
All the talk about Ice Cream and no mention of Howard Johnson’s 28 flavors with a new flavor added almost every month. I liked the Heath bar crunch ice cream. And the Friday Evening all you can eat ‘ fish frys ‘dad loved so much! We will fry those fish on another day.
Let’s pray for warm, sunny weather so we can enjoy all these frosty treats. And hey, it’s OK to drip some ice cream on your shirt. Mom will always figure a way to get it out in the wash!
R.I.P. Helen Hutchinson
There are people in Yonkers, unsung heroes who make Yonkers tick. We lost one of them last week. Helen Hutchinson, who was administrative assistant to Father Burt Ulrich of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Getty Square from 1994 to her retirement in 2016 at age 91 passed away suddenly at the age of 94.
Until her death Helen did everything at St. John’s Church. From preparing the church for services to helping out at the weekly Farmers Market, she was a pillar of the church. So much so a pillar that to quote The Rev. Canon Victoria Sirota, Rector at Saint John’s:
“If you were here during Helen Hutchinson’s Wake with the wild rain storm, you may have heard and seen the tear in our painted canvas ceiling on the south side with plaster crashing onto the pews in dramatic fashion. I have only known Helen for three years, but everyone has told me that Helen was a pillar of this church. Clearly she was holding the roof up!”
Helen was my sister’s neighbor, and she looked out for my sister as my sister looked out for her. It was close to 9:00 p.m. several weeks ago. I was dropping my sister off at her apartment and who do we see driving in but Helen. She of course was coming from church. We shared with her our concern about her driving so late at night.
Helen’s best friend was Eileen Quinn, who was the lady on the Yonkers Public Library Book Mobile helping me pick out books when I was a little boy. The two were inseparable, friends for over 65 years. Helen was also inseparable from Rev. Burt Ulrich who she worked for, often accompanying him to events around town including special occasions at Temple Emanu-El when it was on Rumsey Road off the Parkway.
Helen was an elegant lady, always dressed to the nines with a string of pearls around her neck. The opening hymn at her funeral was Londonderry Air. You and I know the hymn as Danny Boy. Helen had only one living cousin and no family. Her family was her church, and the friends she made doing God’s work.
She always told my sister that when her time on earth was up, she wanted to go quickly and not suffer. God listened to her prayers. She will be missed by all of those whose lives she touched over 94 years.
Helen Hutchinson. Quiet but a doer in so many ways. She, Too is Yonkers!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
