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NNadir

(38,878 posts)

29. When my Dad was on strike one summer, to put food on the table...

Wed May 27, 2026, 02:38 PM

May 27

...he drove a Good Humor ice cream truck with the manual bell.

I was probably about seven years old. My parents kept from me the realities of the struggle: I certainly didn't know until many years after her death that my mother pawned her wedding ring, but got it out of hock when the strike was settled. (My wife wears that ring now.)

Anyway, broke as he was, my father's last stop with the ice cream truck was always our house, and there was always a free vanilla ice cream sandwich for his sons.

I love them to this day.

My old man was a strange bird, but I never think of him without wanting to weep at how much I miss him, and at how he taught me to be a man. I tell my sons all about him.

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debm55

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Ding, ding, ding. Here comes the Ice cream van. In my youth, my favorite was the Klondike bar. What was /were yours? I [View all] debm55 May 27 OP

I like a good ice cream sandwich C_U_L8R May 27 #1

Yes they were, C_U_L8R. I enjoyed the Strawberry Shortcake bars, when I could get one. We were on the end on IceCream debm55 May 27 #3

Love the ice cream sandwiches......buy them in the half size and they're perfect!!!! a kennedy May 27 #23

Orange & Vanilla Push-Ups NEOH May 27 #2

Oh yes, Thank you NEOH. I liked the orange ones. Yummy. debm55 May 27 #4

orange flintstone ones! Blue_playwright May 27 #12

HAHAHAHHAH. Thank you very much, Blue_playwright. They were good. debm55 May 27 #13

This message was self-deleted by its author thucythucy May 27 #5

Strawberry shortcake thucythucy May 27 #6

Yum, the strawberry shortcake was so good. Thank you thucythucy. Now I want one. debm55 May 27 #7

Fudgecicles WmChris May 27 #8

Thank you very much for sharing , WmChris. they were good. debm55 May 27 #10

I liked several things... 2naSalit May 27 #9

What a selection, Thank you for posting your favorites. I remember the blue popsicle. Too debm55 May 27 #11

MOM MOM MOM MOM oh MOM Kali May 27 #14

HAAHAHHHAHA. Thank you very much for sharing, Kali. I remember those tri-colored ones. Especially around July 4th/ debm55 May 27 #16

CTRL-F "bomb pop" JoseBalow May 27 #43

In my youth? S/V Loner May 27 #15

Great, S/V Loner. That is terrific. Does it have the polar bear on the foil wrapper? debm55 May 27 #17

Let me check... S/V Loner May 27 #22

Thank you S/V Loner debm55 May 27 #25

Mr. Softee's chocolate ice cream GreenWave May 27 #18

Oh wow. Mister Softee, made sundaes and milkshakes. I wish there was one in my neighborhood back then and now. debm55 May 27 #19

VERY SAME HERE@! some_of_us_are_sane May 28 #70

my braces would always hurt justaprogressive May 27 #20

Wonderful. Dove bars are very good, but a Black and white shake is tops. thank you justaprogressive. debm55 May 27 #21

Yeah, Klondikes are pretty much perfect! johnp3907 May 27 #24

Yes they are. Thank you very much, john3907 debm55 May 27 #26

I would switch it up, I would try almost anything. mwmisses4289 May 27 #27

Wow, that's the way to go, Thank you very much, mwmisses4289 debm55 May 28 #51

Toasted Almond Bar! Mad_Dem_X May 27 #28

I liked that too. Slight cherry flavor too. Ritabert May 27 #33

Oh yes, Thank you Mad_Dem_X. They didn't have a variety of items. But when they had this, I bought it. debm55 May 28 #53

When my Dad was on strike one summer, to put food on the table... NNadir May 27 #29

I think you must have been a writer in a past life. You express yourself... 3catwoman3 May 27 #41

Thank for your kind words. I'd like to think I'm something of a writer... NNadir May 28 #57

Thank you for sharing your post with us, NNadir. It is so wonderful when your dad did that. debm55 May 28 #55

We didn't have an ice cream man driving through the neighborhood. rsdsharp May 27 #30

Thank you very much rsdsharp for sharing. I have never heard of a licorice cone. Sounds, great. debm55 May 28 #56

Licorice ice cream in a cone. rsdsharp May 28 #67

My bad. thank you rsdsharp debm55 May 28 #68

Choco Taco...that was way back then... MiHale May 27 #31

I think Choco Taco was discontinued. Ritabert May 27 #32

Probably cuz they didn't keep up... MiHale May 27 #34

Thank you very much , MiHale. I don't think our Ice cream truck carried those, but they sure sound great. debm55 May 28 #58

Orange Creamsicle applegrove May 27 #35

Oh yes, Thank you very much, applegrove. I liked the strawberry ones too. debm55 May 28 #59

The push up Figarosmom May 27 #36

Thank you for sharing the push up with us, Figarosmom. Great. debm55 May 28 #60

Orange creamsicles LogDog75 May 27 #37

Oh yes, I remember them. Thank you LogDog75 for sharing the orange creamsicles. debm55 May 28 #50

Thanks to those who posted jgo May 27 #38

Thank you very much,jgo from all of us debm55 May 28 #49

Heath Ice Cream Bars ProfessorGAC May 27 #39

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you very much for sharing, ProfessorGAC. That is great! debm55 May 28 #48

The huge cookie sandwiches TVguyCards May 27 #40

Thank you, TVguyCards. I remember them, but like you, I can't remember the name. debm55 May 28 #47

lol funny how that works TVguyCards May 28 #63

Buried Treasure from Dickie Dee u4ic May 27 #42

Wow, that is great, I have seen those before. Thank you for sharing with us, u4ic. debm55 May 28 #46

I loved the Orange Push-ups Emile May 28 #44

Thank you very much for sharing with us, Emile. I remember them too debm55 May 28 #45

Good Humor The Blue Flower May 28 #52

Thank you very much, The Blue Flower. The strawberry shortcake bars was my second choice. Loved them debm55 May 28 #61

In my neighborhood in Norwalk, CT, the Good Humor Man was the go to............ pdxflyboy May 28 #54

I liked those too. Thank you , pdxflyboy for your kind words. debm55 May 28 #62

Bomb Pops Rob H. May 28 #64

Wow, there are new flavors??? Thank you Rob H. I think I will check that out. debm55 May 28 #65

Good Humor: Chocolate Eclair, or Candy Center from the truck. Or Mister Softee - chocolate w the dark chocolate coating electric_blue68 May 28 #66

OHHHHH. That sounds good. We didn't have Good Humor trucks around here. Looks like I missed some tasty treats. TY debm55 May 28 #69

They were pretty tasty; otherwise I wouldn't have bothered!😄 electric_blue68 May 28 #71

Great post, electric_blue68 debm55 May 28 #72

What's an ice cream van? jmowreader May 29 #73

It was a white van that had a variety of ice cream and popsicles. inside. Ours had a man with a matching one shirt and debm55 May 29 #74