 | 'When Harold Cushing opened the Dairy Joy in 1954 he said he didn't know what he was doing, and the first inspector to look over his establishment told him it simply wouldn't work. Ice cream takeouts were always located outside of town, he said, edging the open highway, to maximize on the passing traffic flow. Well, maybe, thought Harold, but the building he owned was in town, not out; he'd been leasing it to various businesses for years and thought he'd like a go at it himself. "There were people passing by day and evening and at night I had Main Street all to myself," said Harold. He ran a barber shop upstairs, and he thought about what downtown Bucksport didn't have. What it didn't have was a place to buy a good ice cream cone, or a hot fudge sundae.' -Excerpted from the Enterprise August 22, 1991 Fifty three years later, business at The Dairy Port, now Wahl's instead of Cushing's, is better than ever. Larry bought the business in 1981 (when Harold was in his late 70's) He is carrying on traditions begun by Harold and his wife Avis over five decades ago. Though small concessions had to be made--much is strikingly similar. Harold, for instance, believed in using only the best vanilla and the best hot fudge he could get. We go to great lengths to do the same. We eventually were forced to add hard serve ice cream because so many people didn't know how good soft serve ice cream could be. The key is a certain recipe perfected by Harold, still used today. Harold also perfected a mix for most of the soft serve flavors. The recipes include beginning with the best quality mix we can get and then adding or omitting ingredients. The Dairy Port opens by April 1st every year, and even then business is good. Snowstorms make a difference but people are ready for a change. We close the end of September. |