June 27, 2013
Central Park ~ 5:30 to 8:30
25 cent ice cream sundaes from 5:30 to 7:30
6:30 ~ children's sundae eating contest
7:00 Two Rivers Municipal Band
The ice cream sundae story dates back to 1881 when chocolate sauce was used to make ice cream sodas at Ed Berners' soda fountain at 1404 15th Street.
One day, a vacationing George Hallauer - a Two Rivers native then living in Illinois - asked Berners to put some of the chocolate sauce over a dish of ice cream. According to a 1929 interview with Berners, he apparently didn't think it was a good idea.As Berners related in the 1929 Two Rivers Reporter interview, "One night, Hallauer dropped in and ordered a dish of ice cream. As I was serving it, he spied a bottle of chocolate syrup on the back bar, which I used for making sodas. 'Why don't you put some of that chocolate on the ice cream?'" he asked.
"'You don't want to ruin the flavor of the ice cream,' I protested, but Hallauer answered 'I'll try anything once,' and I poured on the
chocolate. Hallauer liked it, and the ice cream sundae was born."
The five-cent concoction became pretty popular. Berners, who always served his patrons in an immaculate white jacket, with an unlit cigar between his lips, started experimenting with different flavors - with fancy names. There were treats like Flora Dora, Mudscow, and an ice cream/peanut dish called Chocolate Peany. Apple cider also became a popular replacement for the chocolate.
Berners credits the actual term of "sundae" to another ice cream parlor in nearby Manitowoc.
Due to the popularity of the dish in Two Rivers, George Giffy began selling sundaes - but only on Sunday.That is until a ten year old girl insisted on having a bowl of ice cream "with that stuff on top" even though it wasn't Sunday. "This must be Sunday for it is the kind of ice cream I want," and Giffy relented, of course. He is thought to have started calling the dish a Sunday.
How the sundae spelling came about is not quite clear, but the accepted story is interesting, non-the-less.
As the legend goes, a glass salesman writing up an order for Berners' canoe-shaped ice cream bowls misspelled Sunday as Sundae. Others believe the name was spelled as it is because it was considered rude to name the ice cream treat for a day of worship.he popularity of the ice cream sundae spread quickly. Berners said that was the work of a glass salesman who sold the dishes. Hallauer also spread the story, and that's thought to be the reason for some of the confusion about the birthplace of the sundae, since he lived in Illinois. Both Evanston and Rockford are among the communities around the country who have tried to lay claim to the title of "Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae."
Author and language expert H.L. Mencken traced the origin of the word sundae for his bookThe American Language: Supplement 1. After investigating claims by Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ithaca, New York, Norfolk, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., he found the Two Rivers story to be the REAL story.An interesting side note to the ice cream sundae story - for some reason, the ice cream soda with its carbonated water wasn't popular with the religious community of the day and it came to be known as "the immoral soda." In fact, Two Rivers was just one city that had a law banning the sale of the ice cream soda on Sunday.
You can still get an ice cream sundae at the ice cream parlor in the historic Washington House at 17th and Jefferson Streets. The parlor features pictures and relics of the original Berners store, which is shown at the left, along with an old picture of George Berners, himself.
So that's the REAL truth, and perhaps a bit more, about the ice cream sundae.
Washington House
Wisconsin Marker Sign in front of City Hall
Two Rivers Offers Free Sundae to People in Ithaca
The City of Two Rivers placed a coupon in the 7/15/06 issue of the Ithaca Journal inviting people to enjoy a free ice cream sundae at Washington House in Two Rivers - and to come learn the REAL story of the ice cream sundae.
To prevent any unscrupulous Ithaca businesses from honoring the coupon - it includes small print that states, "By honoring this coupon, I acknowledge that Two Rivers is the REAL birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae."
Postcards addressed to the Mayor of Ithaca were handed out at the 2006 Sundae Thursday event. As of mid-July, Mayor Carolyn Peterson says she had received about 80 of them in her mailbox.
SUNDAE FIGHT SONGSung to the tune of �On Wisconsin�
Here the Music
Here the Music
In Two Rivers, in Wisconsin
History was made.
And our pride in that first sundae...
It will never fade.
Made right here by old Ed Berners
'Eighteen eighty-one.
Now we celebrate that sundae
and have lots of fun
'Eighteen eighty-one.
Now we celebrate that sundae
and have lots of fun
Others try to claim the sundae
started in their towns.
But the story of our sundae
turns their smiles to frowns
started in their towns.
But the story of our sundae
turns their smiles to frowns
Evanston and Ithaca,
they are among the worst.
But confronted with our facts,
concede that Ed was first.
they are among the worst.
But confronted with our facts,
concede that Ed was first.
Topped with chocolate, or with cherries
and with lots of nuts.
Try to claim our sundae and
we'll kick your butts!
and with lots of nuts.
Try to claim our sundae and
we'll kick your butts!
On Two Rivers! On Wisconsin.
It's with pride we burst.
As we shout out to the whole world Ed was first!!
It's with pride we burst.
As we shout out to the whole world Ed was first!!
2006 City Council Resolution
RESOLUTION FORMALLY CHALLENGING THE CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK�S CLAIM TO BE
�BIRTHPLACE OF THE ICE CREAM SUNDAE�
Whereas, Ed Berners invented the ice cream sundae at his Two Rivers soda fountain in 1881; and�BIRTHPLACE OF THE ICE CREAM SUNDAE�
Whereas, this historic accomplishment has resulted in our community being known far and wide as the �Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae;� and
Whereas, this status has been recognized by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, whose State Historic Marker in Two Rivers Central Park proudly proclaims this community as �Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae;� and
Whereas, it is only fitting and proper that the �coolest city� in America�s Dairyland be afforded sole possession of this title; and
Whereas, other, lesser-known communities, including Evanston, Illinois, Buffalo, New York, Baltimore, Maryland, Ithaca, New York and even neighboring Manitowoc, Wisconsin, have from time to time sought to claim this title; and
Whereas, in keeping with modern concepts of municipal government and international relations, Two Rivers holds to the belief that it is only appropriate to launch a �pre-emptive strike� when any such community tries to assert its spurious claim to be the birthplace of this iconic American confection; and
Whereas, it has recently come to our attention that Ithaca, New York, not content with just promoting its status as home to one of America�s great universities, in the Finger Lakes region of beautiful upstate New York, has once again dusted off its claim to be �Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae;� and
Whereas, this latest attempt to legitimize such revisionist history has as its centerpiece a �Month of Sundaes� promotion being plotted by operatives within the Ithaca/Tompkins County Visitor and Convention Bureau; and
Whereas, Ithaca�s experience with ice cream sundaes is of relatively recent vintage, dating to Chester Platt�s fabrication of a cherry sundae at his drug store soda fountain in 1892, a full eleven years after Ed Berners' sundaes began broadening children�s smiles and adults� waistlines in our community on the shore of Lake Michigan;
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the City of Two Rivers re-asserts its status as Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae; and
Be it further resolved, that the City of Ithaca is hereby directed to cease and desist from its continued claims of being �Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae,� lest the City of Two Rivers be forced to take further action to set the historical record straight; and
Be it further resolved that the good citizens of Ithaca are urged to henceforth direct their energies to more appropriate pursuits, like cheering on the athletic teams of Cornell University and celebrating the beauty of the Finger Lakes Region, while leaving ice cream sundaes to the town that knows them best: Two Rivers, Wisconsin;
Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be forwarded forthwith to Mayor Carolyn Peterson and the Common Council of the City of Ithaca, as well as to the board and staff of the Ithaca/Tompkins County Visitor and Convention Bureau, to advise them of the folly of their endeavor, along with sincere best wishes from the citizens of �The Coolest City in Wisconsin��and Birthplace of the Ice Cream Sundae�Two Rivers.
Dated this 19th day of June, 2006.
Along with the resolution, in July 2006 we delivered a package to Ithaca mayor Carolyn Peterson and her operatives at the Ithaca Convention and Visitors Bureau. An inflatable dairy cow, an ice cream sundae t-shirt from Schroeder's, and some Two Rivers jewelry from Inman Jewelers were delivered by hand by a Two Rivers resident who was traveling to the Ithaca area. We figured they could use a cow to go along with all the bull they've been dishing out!
No comments:
Post a Comment