New Englanders have had a love affair with ice cream since colonial days. Ice cream was introduced to the United States by Quaker colonists who brought their ice cream recipes with them. Confectioners sold ice cream at their shops in New York and other cities during the colonial era. Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson were known to have regularly eaten and served ice cream.

My family eats ice cream year round. Supermarkets sell ice cream year round. People have come into The Happy Chocolatier to buy ice cream every week since we opened in mid-October. I know that Reasons to be Cheerful in West Concord is doing a good ice cream business despite “the winter.” So, I can’t understand why many ice cream establishments close down during the winter. Yeah it’s cold – but we hardy New Englanders eat ice cream 52 weeks a year!