Good Humor Ice Cream Made Memories; Now Save Those Photos To CD  

Transfer Old Photos To CD For Digital Longevity

Bad moods aren’t an option when ice cream’s in the house. Ever notice there’s something about the cold, sweet treat that makes grown-ups act like giddy kids again?

If you’ve been around long enough, you probably remember the Good Humor trucks. The drivers wore spiffy white uniforms and the vehicles were outfitted with bells. Lucky for the world, ice cream fans have scanned such photos to CD, turning old images into digital so the rest of us can relive and enjoy them.

Thank Harry Burt, the man behind Good Humor ice cream, for such fun memories. Who doesn’t recall saving up their weekly allowance and racing out to meet the neighborhood ice cream truck? The company that Burt, who lived in Youngstown, Ohio, started makes its claim as the first to pair sticks and ice cream. His invention dates back to 1920, the year Burt made a special lollipop and, later, a chocolate coating for ice cream. His son came up with the idea of using the lollipop sticks for the cold treat, which otherwise would have been too messy to eat.

Also instrumental to the success of Good Humor ice cream was the truck. It was a genius bit of marketing that generated and enforced the brand’s clean-cut image. (Today, Good Humor retains a wholesome appeal but has expanded to include extras such as Heath Toffee, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Oreo cookie crumbs.) Today, Web sites are filled with images of these trucks, heavily tinged with nostalgia. Many have been refurbished and sold. Transferring the aging photos to CD is a smart way of preserving and building on this scoop of history for later generations.

Good Humor’s existence was not without drama, however. Burt was unable to secure a patent for his process and machinery until three years after the fact. (He never did receive a patent for the actual ice cream bar, according to The National Archives.) During this time, Christian Nelson of Onawa, Iowa, received a patent for his Eskimo Pie. The Popsicle Corporation also emerged during this inventive era of frozen treats. Lawsuits followed on and off. After Burt died in 1926, his company changed hands several times. His widow took it public, then New Yorker M.J. Meehan purchased three-quarters of the company’s stocks. Good Humor and Popsicle are both owned by Unilever now.

Tags: Good Humor, ice cream, photos to CD

This entry was posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Photo Scanning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.