BQC+Ice+Cream

=Large and Small Scale Ice Cream before the Quad Cities= Original Author: Julia Kutmas, A&S 195 Revision Author: Julia Kutmas A&S 195

Although the Quad Cities area may now be defined as famous for its local ice cream shops, such as Whitey’s and Lagomarcino’s (which will be explored later), before the Quad Cities there were many groups of ice cream companies within the present Quad City area, including the Davenport Ice Cream Company, Barr Dairy Company, LaFranz Ice Cream Company, and the Lagomarcino-Grupe Company, all which were located in Davenport (Saturday Evening Post). Another ice cream company was located on the Illinois side of the present Quad Cities, in Moline, named appropriately, the “Moline Ice Cream Company. The Davenport Ice Cream Company was the most prominent in the area, being mentioned in many sources all over the web, from magazines in New York to Chicago.

The Davenport Ice Cream Company was located on East 2nd Street in Davenport and specialized in making ice cream, candies, and soda fountain equipment (Milk Plan Monthly 43). Originally, the ice cream company only resided in 211 East 2nd Street, but eventually in 1920, the company signed a ten-year lease to encompass not only the 211 addresses, but also 207 to 210 East 2nd Street. The president of Davenport Ice Cream Company was Nicolas J. Coin, who was also assisted by another member of the Coin family, referred to as “A. Coin,” the secretary and treasurer of the company (Industrial Refrigeration 306). Because of this lease from one address to three, the company was able to expand and add machinery, meaning they could make 3,000 gallons of ice cream daily, quite the feat for that time period (Industrial Refrigeration 306).

The Davenport Ice Cream Company continued to expand throughout the next couple of years; continually adding space and new equipment to the company was apparently very important. In 1920, the company bought an additional icehouse with the intentions to rebuild their present icehouse, which doubled their capacity (Milk Plant Monthly 43). In 1922 the company also installed a 15-ton York refrigerating machine to add to their collection (Ice and Refrigeration 165).

In 1922 Nicholas Coin, president of the Davenport Ice Cream Co planned to open a model ice cream and candy factory in the west end of Davenport, which would cost $50,000. This plan was to consolidate different parts of the company into one area and become a “model” to many other companies; the plan would consolidate the soda fountain equipment, ice cream, and candy into one building.

In 1921 Davenport Ice Cream Company bought the rights to Eskimo Pie, a chocolate dipped “slab” of ice cream invented in Des Moines by Russell Stover (International Confectioner 35). The company planned on manufacturing and selling the Eskimo Pies in Davenport and the surrounding territories (International Confectioner 35). The Eskimo Pie was incredibly successful and novel in this time period and was sold to over 75,000 places where ice cream was made or sold. Because of the amount of companies and vendors who bought the Eskimo Pie, over 1 million and a half were sold everyday. The Davenport Ice Cream Company wasn’t the only company in the area to buy these novel desserts other companies such as LaFranz Ice Cream Co. Davenport, Lagomarcino-Grupe Co, Davenport, and Barr Dairy Co., Davenport also bought the rights to these treats (Saturday Evening Post).

Though there were large scale ice cream operations in the before quad cities area, it seems to be the smaller scale businesses that have stuck in the hearts of the people of the Quad Cities in the past, and now in the present. Whitey’s Ice Cream and Lagomarcino’s have both been in existence in the Quad Cities area since the beginning of the 1900’s and are both still successful today.

Perhaps among the most well known ice cream within the present day Quad Cities is the cheery Whitey’s Ice Cream shop, located now in many locations across Iowa (as far as Iowa City) and Illinois (with several locations in Moline and its surrounding cities). According to Whitey’s Ice Cream’s website, Whitey’s first store opened in 1933 on the corner of 16th street and 23rd avenue in Moline, Illinois. While it is no mystery how delicious the ice cream at Whitey’s is, most people wonder how the name “Whitey’s” came about. The original owner of Whitey’s, Chester Lindgren, was known for his white blonde hair and thus had the nickname “Whitey,” which is why the store inherited this interesting name (Whitey’s).

Whitey eventually sold the business to his former employee, Bob Tunberg, and his wife, in 1953, just after the Quad Cities gained its new name. Bob and his wife Norma worked at the store making their product during the day and then opening at night to sell to their customers (Whitey’s). Whitey’s second store opened in 1977 on 41st street in Moline, with subsequent stores to follow in East Moline, Rock Island, Davenport, Iowa City, and Bettendorf, and is now a whole sale food agent that is able to sell in grocery stores and in more “bulk” proportions (Whitey’s). With its own ice cream plant, wholesale ice cream, and multiple stores throughout the present Quad Cities, Whitey’s Ice Cream has transformed through the ages to become one of the Quad Cities “must-see” and “must-eat” locations; a far cry from the original store that was solo for 44 years.

Lagomarcino’s is another beloved confectionery within the Quad Cities region, boasting homemade ice cream, hot fudge, candies, and breads to make delicious sandwiches. An Italian immigrant named Angelo Lagomarcino created Lagomarcino’s in 1908 and ran the store along with his wife and three children (Lagomarcino). While Lagomarcino’s boasts many employees in two locations now, Lagomarcino’s “starting five” (Angelo, his wife, and children), did all of the work at the original Moline location, with Charlie buying and making recipes for chocolate, Mary packaging the chocolate, and Tom making the ice cream, Lagomarcino’s was an “all hands on deck” company (Lagomarcino).

Lagomarcino’s first location is still standing today and is located on 5th Avenue in Moline. Much like the candy, ice cream, and sodas Lagomarcino’s made; they didn’t skimp on the décor within their first shop and started planning its layout in 1918. Angelo had the booths made in Moline by Moline Furniture Works, the Tiffany lamps shipped from New York, Cassini Tile install the intricate tile floor, and the metal ceiling, which dates back to 1894, tops off the look of the store, all which boasts these features still today. In the 1997 Lagomarcino’s branched into another store in the East Village of Davenport, giving this building the same atmosphere as the first with its impeccable décor.

One of Lagomarcino’s most famous ice cream related treat is their homemade hot fudge (Engel). According to //Food Finds: America’s Best Local Foods and the People who Produce Them,// Angelo bought the recipe for the famous hot fudge in 1918 for $25 (Engel 108). After hearing of her husband buying this expensive recipe, his wife, Luigia wasn’t pleased and caused arguments amongst the couple, to which, of course, Angelo won because the hot fudge is still loved in the now Quad Cities area.

=Works Cited=

About Whitey’s: Our History. //whiteysicecream.com.// 1 April 2012.

Association of Practical Refrigerating Engineers. “Ice and Refrigeration.” //Industrial// // Refrigeration. // May 1918: 306. Print.

Engel, Allison and Engel, Margaret. //Food Finds: America’s Best Local Foods and the// // People who Produce Them. // New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 1984. 108. Print.

“Eskimo Pie.” //The Saturday Evening Post.// February 1922: 72. Print.

“Lagomarcino’s has Always Been a Family Business.” //Lagomarcinos.com.// 1 April 2012.

“News of Milk Plants, Creameries, Condeseries, Cheeseries, Dried Milk, Ice Cream, and Allied Trades Factories.” //Milk Plant Monthly.// January 1920: 43. Print.

National Wholesale Confectioners’ Association. “Eskimo Pie.” //The International Confectioner.// January 1921: 35.

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