You’ve Heard This One Before.
That jingle isn’t just nostalgia — it's a sound built right here, on a truck built right here too.
Before the Truck, There Was the Cart
Ice cream vending traces back to horse-drawn carts and street pushcarts in the early 1900s — a slow, local, neighborhood-by-neighborhood business. It took two things to turn that into the truck-and-jingle tradition everyone recognizes today: reliable mobile refrigeration, and a chassis sturdy enough to carry it. By the 1950s, both existed — and a new kind of American business was born, one that quite literally came to you.
This Truck’s Story
Mister Softee was founded by brothers William and James Conway, and the Boyertown Auto Body Works built the bodies for hundreds of their trucks — this 1958 Ford among them. It's one of the Museum's most popular vehicles, and it's easy to see why: the original menu board is still on board, prices and all, a direct window into 1958.
Donated by Henry Gaffey after his retirement.
Exterior
The original menu board
Service window
Proudly Sponsored By
Luna Joy and Pop Pop