I wish I had an actual picture of Freddy. However, he had all the accoutrements of the guy in this picture. There was nothing like hearing the unmistakable shaking of the Good Humor truck bells. “It’s Freddy!” we would all shout out.
Whether we were shooting hoops in Bobbie’s backyard, playing two-hand touch in the street, shooting pool in Robbie’s basement, or swimming in the above-ground pool in my backyard, we would always have time to take a Good Humor break.
My favorite was the Chocolate Eclair, shown above, in the center. The best part was getting to the solid chocolate center, no matter which ice cream bar you ordered. Freddy wore the waste change machine. I remember most things were about fifteen to twenty five cents. If you gave him a quarter and something cost fifteen cents, he would work that change machine without even looking down. It was very impressive. Eventually, the prices went up to fifty cents, much to our dismay. One summer Freddy came by with a new product – The Whammy Bar. They were thin frozen ice bars in several flavors – Coke, Root Beer, Cherry, Lemon-Lime, etc. And they only cost a nickle!
Here’s the only picture I could find (I remember them only being frozen ice):
As time went on Freddy rolled into the Block in a brand-spankin-new truck. It was totally enclosed. He didn’t have to get out of it but was able to serve us our ice cream out of the side of the truck which had a large opening in it and a long stainless steel counter that most of us could hardly see over. The bells were automated too. Instead of ringing them by hand all he had to do was turn them on. What innovation!
Take care Freddy, wherever you may be. You were one of the ‘coolest,’ good-humored, guys I knew growing up!
Posted by Mark Koperweis
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