The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1922-11-10
CANE BY CHANCE
New Workers. Explanation OF
Origin of Ice Cream Soda.
Customer Who Insisted on Cooling
Drink Credited With the Invention
Of the Popular Beverage.

This Is the day and generation OF
the soda fountain feeders. With pro-
bIbItion has come the rapid rise OF
the sandwich section Of the marble
bar. the lunch that is quick but not
free. The soda fountain has covered
the country along with the car, the
photograph and the film. They have
all been accepted, 1t seems, as among
the greatest of life's safe improve
ments.
OF the whole lot, the soda foun-
tain has shown the greatest recent
change An interesting sequel to the
eighteenth amendment Is definite
demand for the installation Of milk
pump In the middle Of every modern
fountain. With the milk pump has
come the urn and demand for fresh
brewed coffee, for fresh orange juice,
and for stacks of assorted sand
wiches. The latest soda fountain has
more attachments than an automo-
bile
But despite all these minor addi-
lions a soda fountain is still a soda
fountain and not a restaurant, or
fruit stand. or a coffee counter. These
have not interfered with its main
mission. 1t still does its biggest
business In the sale Of those original
American connections commonly
called soft drinks remarks a writer
In the New York Sun.
Not so long ago there was no such
thing as an ice-c-eam soda. The
pride of first-class fountain was not
In the number Of its strip pumps nor
in its Jars Of crushed fresh fruit.
Rather was rank gagged by the num-
Der of kinds Of mineral water kept
on draft Plain charged water was
not served out as vichy or seltzer or
anything else a customer happened to
ask for.
1.-The soda clerks Of today don't
an old-timer. "They think all car
donated water Is about the same
thing.
"Why, one place on Broadway must
have had eight or ten mineral waters
ON draft all the time. Vichy and
Kissingen. Kaiser and Settler, Deep
Rock, half dozen others. They came
In by the barrel, mostly from Sara
toga.
Every place else had them, too
The older stores, the bar at the Hoff-
man house, the Fifth Avenue hotel.
the Victoria, the Imperial the Abe
marie. 1t was the regular thing to
take a couple of glasses of mineral
water or soda, or even phosphate, |
which was then rated as a tonic, In |
the morning.
This demand for an early drink
was the thing that led to the discov-
cry Of ice-cream soda. OF course.
claims that ice-cream
soda was Invented down there. and |
vent so far as publicly to give Robert |
Green credit for starting 1t. They
rave him the credit after he was dead.
But they can hardly make clear
,ase, and hold to the Eighth avenue
-ersson of its Invention. New York
las just as good claim.
1.-The thing was entirely accidental.
Carly in the morning a customer came
INTO lower Eighth avenue drug store
md asked for glass Of soda. The
proprietor apologized because he had
10 ice. and offered a plate OF ice
'ream instead.
THAT was no substitute for the
hing wanted. The customer wanted
oda, and insisted that the Ice cream
,e put into 1t II there was no Ice
valuable. That was done. The re-
ult was remarkable, and Ice cream
oda has been spreading over the
ountry ever since.
"Sundaes are much later Idea
The sale Of them began, ! think, by
m effort to evade in a legal manner
he old Sunday closing laws. when Ice
ream parlors were not open. Drug
torres were generally not closed. and
ere ice cream was camoufiaged and
old as 'sundae'
But nobody ever believed that sit
ing at a soda fountain would take
ank as great popular diversion all
yer the United States. In less than
me generation that has happened.
lines change"