Chilly Philly Ice Cream.

Like a lot of people, some of my earliest memories are of my parents telling me that if I just finished eating my vegetables at dinner, I could have a bowl of ice cream for dessert. For my family though, ice cream wasn't just a reward for eating healthy; it was a way of life. We always had ice cream in the freezer, we never bought the generic store brand of ice cream and we didn't buy the cheapest gallon on the shelf. In my family, there was only one answer to what type of ice cream to purchase: Breyers.

This requirement was something that was important to both of my parents. Breyers Ice Cream was, after all, a local company. It had been started in Philadelphia and, after over a hundred years, the company was not only still in operation but was the country's top selling brand of ice cream.

Needless to say then, the love of Breyers Ice Cream in my family did not simply start with my parents. This was something that had been instilled in them throughout their own childhoods. My father grew in a blue-collar home in Southwest Philadelphia. While his family did not have a lot of money, their home was near the Breyers plant and employed many people from the neighborhood, which made the ice cream company an important fixture in my father's childhood

My mother grew up in East Mt. Airy (now known as West Oak Lane) in Northwest Philadelphia. Her father's parents had owned a candy shop in Northeast Philadelphia. At their store, they sold Breyers Ice Cream. When my grandfather grew up and had children of his own, he told my grandmother that the one thing in life that you can never scrimp on is ice cream, and that meant the only ice cream to buy was Breyers. My grandmother, always looking for a way to save some money though, stated firmly that it was impossible to taste the difference between the various brands of ice cream. To prove her point, she devised an experiment. She went to the store and bought the generic brand of ice cream. She then scooped the generic brand into the Breyers container. Later that night at dinner, she scooped the generic ice cream out of the Breyers container and served it to her family. As soon as they tasted it, they immediately saw through my grandmother's devious ploy and firmly stated that they were not eating Breyers. My grandmother finally gave in; she had lost. From then on, she only put Breyers Ice Cream in her freezer.

It therefore came as a big shock to my entire family when the news came out in 1995 that the Breyers Ice Cream plant was closing in Philadelphia. Over two hundred individuals were going to be put out of work, despite the fact that the factory had never been unprofitable. The reason behind this drastic piece of information was that Breyers had been sold to a large multinational organization, who had discovered that they could save some money if they moved production out-of-state.

Upon learning the news about Breyers, my father declared the unthinkable: our family would never again stock Breyers Ice Cream in our freezer. We were boycotting.

Unfortunately, the boycott was not enough for my father. Over the next few months, and years, my dad started researching the history of ice cream and its ties to Philadelphia. My dad learned that Philadelphia was once known as the ice cream capitol of the world. Not only that, but Philadelphia had its own style of ice cream. This style is found in companies such as Breyers and Bassetts. No eggs are used and it is cooked. Unlike the French style (which uses eggs) and is seen in such brands as Ben and Jerry's or Haagen Dazs, the Philadelphia style has less fat and calories.

Upon learning the entire history of ice cream and, more particularly, its history with the city of Philadelphia, my father had a new idea. He'd celebrate this history by creating his own brand of ice cream. He'd make it in the classic Philadelphia style and he'd call it Chilly Philly Ice Cream.

My father's dream came true while I was in high school. He and my mother became the founders of Chilly Philly Ice Cream (while both keeping their day jobs as a City employee and a Philadelphia public school teacher, respectively). The ice cream celebrated Philadelphia's history by being created in the classic Philadelphia ice cream style. My father also had a local artist design the ice cream's containers with classic Philadelphia icons depicted on it, such as the Ben Franklin Bridge, the Liberty Bell and the clothespin.

While Chilly Philly celebrates Philadelphia's history, it also attempts to preserve the city's future. My parents were adamant that a percentage of the profits go to Philadelphia charities. Since Chilly Philly has yet to become profitable, my parents came up with an alternate solution to give back. They would donate actual ice cream to various organizations around the Philadelphia metropolitan area. This included local schools (both public and private), religious events and social action groups.

Chilly Philly Ice Cream was originally created as a response to what my family felt was the abandonment of Philadelphia by Breyers Ice Cream. It has since become a way to celebrate Philadelphia's past, present and future.

By ABIGAIL POSES