Home Of The Ice Cream Sundae

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

26 Jun 2006 02:00 PM

Summertime and ice cream... the two go hand-in-hand. And as luck would have it I actually live less than an hour away from the birthplace of the ice cream sundae. Two Rivers, Wisconsin was recently recognized as the "Official Home of the Ice Cream Sundae." To celebrate, each June, the city hosts a "Sundae Week," which features a massive ice cream social.

If you can make it to Two Rivers during June for the festivities you can look forward to a host of ice cream related events, including eating contests, old fashioned band concerts, and 25-cent ice cream sundaes. If you can't make it to the city in June, you can still indulge in an ice cream sundae at the ice cream parlor in the city's historic Washington House. The House is part-ice-cream-parlor-part-museum. It's also where you can learn about the history of the ice cream sundae... a story that dates back to 1881.

According to local historians, it all happened at Ed Berners' soda fountain, located in the heart of Two Rivers. One day, a visitor from Illinois asked Berners to put some chocolate sauce over a dish of ice cream. In a 1929 interview, Berners said he didn't think it was a good idea. In fact, at first he refused to oblige the customer saying, "You don't want to ruin the flavor of the ice cream." Berners later relented, and the five-cent concoction became a popular menu item. But, it was only sold on Sunday. That is until a 10-year-old girl insisted on the ice cream treat even though it wasn't Sunday. She reportedly said, "This must be Sunday for it is the kind of ice cream I want." And a legend was born. You can re-live the moment at the Washington House (ice-cream museum), which houses pictures and relics from the original Berners' store.

As for the spelling of "sundae," a trip to the museum reveals that some believe the name was spelled as it is because it was considered immoral to name the ice cream treat after a day set aside for worship. Another legend attributes the name to a salesman who misspelled "Sunday" as "Sundae" when he was writing up an order for Berners' canoe-shaped ice cream bowls.

Currently, a friendly feud has developed between Ithaca, New York and Two Rivers, over the origin of the popular dessert. Both cities lay claim to being the birthplace of the original ice cream sundae (though, Two Rivers is listed as such in the National Registry), and neither is giving up. Ithaca claims drugstore owner Chester Platt served up the first sundae in 1892 by mixing vanilla ice cream, cherry syrup and a candied cherry. Meanwhile, Two Rivers' officials remain steadfast to their claims.

Judge for yourself by taking a trip to Two Rivers, Wisconsin. The city is located about 30 minutes south of Green Bay; 40 minutes north of Milwaukee; and less than 3 hours north of Chicago.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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