The Village Squire, 1981-08, Page 10THE BIG SCOOP
In search of Western Ontario's
by Elaine Townshend
The things writers do for a story! For
instance, I was told to update the history
d ice cream by sampling treats at small
local establishements. It meant stopping
in the midst of my travels on the hottest
of summer days at ice cream booths and
take-out restaurants in search of a super
sundae. It was a tough assignment but,
for the sake of research, I persevered.
The first place I found was Gardiner's
Dairy, a tiny ice cream booth tucked away
on Stanley Street in Goderich just a block
df Shoppers' Square.
Gardiners' sells two brands of hard ice
cream and usually has fifteen flavours
available. Lisa was on duty the day I
stopped. She hadn't noticed a particular
flavour preference among customers, but
the crowd that visits the arcade next door
often slips over for shakes and sundaes.
Shakes cost $1.00 each; sundaes are
$1.00 for the large size and .75 for small
size; hot fudge is .10 extra. Cones come
in two sizes at .85 and .60.
Now, my sundae. At .75, the small
butterscotch sundae seemed a reasonable
size. The ice cream was a little coarse,
however, with a few ice crystals near the
bottom. Although the topping was not as
plentiful as in some other places, it was
flavourful and covered with finely -ground
fresh peanuts.
My next stop was at Freeze -King on
Highway 8 at the west limits of Seaforth.
Glenda Riley explained that her parents
have operated the take-out restaurant for
several years selling hamburgers, hot
dogs, chicken, french fries, onion rings,
etc., as well as soft ice cream. Two or
three years ago they added hard ice
cream, and according to Glenda, custom-
er choice seems evenly divided between
hard and soft.
Freeze -King usually has sixteen fla-
vours of hard ice cream and nine flavours
of soft. Single scoop cones cost .50;
double scoops, $1.00 and triple, $1.50.
Bisset Dairy: an early Canadian industry
The Bisset Dairy, an early Canadian
industry, including all milk processing
steps trom tarm to factory. The location
was at Saltford Heights, overlooking the
Maitland River just north of Goderich.
Huron County Pioneer Museum in
Goderich has compiled a brief history of
the local enterprise.
Samuel Bisset started the dairy in 1896
on a farm owned by his father. Robert
Bisset Sr., on Concession 6, Lot 5 of the
Western Division of Colborne Township.
A fresh spring water creek ran
through the milk house providing a
natural cooling resource.
Samuel's eldest son, Gordon, peddled
bottled milk in Goderich twice a day.
In 1902 additional land was purchased
at Saltford Heights from Sheriff Mac-
Donald and a new barn was built from
timber on the property. Land along the
river flats was rented for pasture.
The first milking machine in this part of
the country was put into operation in 1910
PG. 8 VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1981
at the Bisset tarm. An underground line
ran from a pressure pump in the dairy
building to the barn. At that point. the
herd numbered fifty.
With the onset of World War I. Bisset
Dairy began shipping milk by rail to
Toronto City Dairy and continued until
1920 when Bissets started producing
butter and ice cream.
In 1946. the local dairy bought a
continuous freezer made by Cherry
Burrill, who had obtained rights from an
Australian Patent to make the freezer in
Canada.
The dairy operation then included
gathering cream from local farmers on
trucks and taking the finished products to
stores in area towns.
At the peak of production the Bisset
herd numbered 200. Of these 75 were
milked twice a day until the dairy closed
in 1970, marking the end of a significant
chapter in the dairy business in South-
western Ontario.
Shakes, floats, banana splits, popcicles,
drumsticks, bars and peanut clusters
add variety. Heavenly, Hash is a
combination of chocolate ice cream,
marshmallows and peanuts.
Here I found my personal favourite.
Butterscotch topping on the smooth, soft
sundae was thick, dark and yummy.
Peanut pieces were sprinkled overtop. At
.95, though, it was no larger than the
others.
My third investigation took place just
east of Blyth at the Triple K, which
includes a restaurant besides a take-out
window. 1 left the oppressive heat of the
car to relax in the air conditioned
restaurant.
At .65, the sundae was the least
expensive and the smallest. The hard ice
cream was tasty and the texture was
smooth with only a few ice crystals near
the bottom. The excellent topping was
thick, smooth, light in colour and more
mild than some of the others. Nuts were
not included.
Waitress Lorna Fraser listed the four
flavours of ice cream at Triple K - vanilla,
chocolate, strawberry and maple walnut.
Cones at .50 and .75, .milk shakes at $1.00
and sundaes at .65 and $1.25 seem to be
the most popular in that order.
My last stop was at the Derby Dip on
Highway 4 just south of Exeter. Sandi
and Ken Bergmann have operated the
take-out restaurant for five years, but it
has been serving hamburgers, chicken,
hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, soft
ice cream and more for approximately
thirteen years.
Sandi invited me inside where I could
watch the creamy ice cream flowing into
milk shake glasses and swirling into
cones. This is the first summer the Derby
Dip has carried chocolate as well as
vanilla. The latter is still the most
popular. but chocolate is gaining rapidly.
Items in order of popularity are cones
at .50 and .70. A .30 baby cone will be
made for younger children who might not
be able to finish a regular size cone. Milk
shakes cost $1.25; sundaes are S1.25 with
.10 extra for peanuts; banana splits,
$1.75; and floats, $1.20.
My butterscotch sundae was the most