Ice Cream

With Indian summer still to come, we're not out of ice cream season yet. Here are a few of the many area spots to grab a cold, soothing treat. Situated at a perfect location on a corner in the town of Maugansville, the Maugansville Creamery serves Hershey's ice cream in a parlor with seating for about 10. On a hot summer evening, customers can sit at the picnic tables and tables outside and enjoy 72 flavors of ice cream in cones, cups and...

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, Pa. -The Blue Ridge Summit Free Library will hold its annual ice cream social and book sale from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 21, at the library and on the surrounding grounds. More than 1,000 books will be sold including selections for adults, teens and children. Used videos also will be sold. A white elephant sale will include plants, flowers and other items. Library T-shirts, tote bags, note cards, art prints by Lester Jay Stone, Christmas ornaments and wood block replicas will also be sold.

LEETOWN, W.Va. - Ah, the trials of being fair royalty. One night, you're dressed in fine attire and carrying flowers and the next, you're in a livestock barn cramming down ice cream. Miss Jefferson County Fair Victoria Holler joined other youths at the fair Wednesday night for an ice cream eating contest. Holler and the rest of the group each were given a pint of vanilla ice cream with the challenge of who could down it the fastest. Dozens of spectators sitting around the edge of the barn screamed for their favorite contestant as they gobbled.

LEETOWN, W.Va. - Ah, the trials of being fair royalty. One night, you're dressed in fine attire and carrying flowers and the next, you're in a livestock barn cramming down ice cream. Miss Jefferson County Fair Victoria Holler joined other youths at the fair Wednesday night for an ice cream eating contest. Holler and the rest of the group each were given a pint of vanilla ice cream with the challenge of who could down it the fastest. Dozens of spectators sitting around the edge of the barn screamed for their favorite contestant as they gobbled.

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, Pa. - Blue Ridge Summit Free Library will hold its annual ice cream social and book sale from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today in the library and on the surrounding grounds. The event is sponsored by PenMar Development Corp. A free children's program, Culler Magic with Frank Culler, will be presented from 11 a.m. to noon in the social room of Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, adjacent to the library. For information, call 717-794-2240.

SMITHSBURG -- With bluegrass music emanating from a new gazebo and new membership forms rolling in, the Smithsburg Historical Society's annual ice cream social went off as smoothly as the peach ice cream members dished out went down. The event, held Wednesday behind the town museum at 20 E. Water St., is one of three social gatherings the society hosts each year to encourage new members to get involved, Smithsburg Historical Society President Mike Rohrer said. "We try to have a theme to each one," Rohrer said.

Would you eat ice cream made with human breast milk, as suggested by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals? Yes 47 votes (8 percent) No 540 votes (92 percent) o Results as of 10:50 a.m. Friday of votes received online.

Yes, "Our scoop on ice cream ... Herald-Mail staffers choose their favorites" - a survey of five local ice creameries - was apparently well read Aug. 14. We're glad and we love to hear from readers: Priscilla Harsh of Clopper Orchards in Smithsburg called to tell us that her family's orchard store sells hand-dipped ice cream, including some prepared with home-grown fresh peaches. She was surprised their peach ice cream wasn't included in our survey and invited me out to take a taste.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- "It's easy. Just swallow. " Chad Starner's advice for winning the ice cream eating contest title at the Berkeley County Youth Fair seems simple enough. Avoiding the physical discomfort that comes with gulping a pint of vanilla ice cream is another test altogether. "The last bite didn't go down very well," the 17-year-old Hedgesville teen said moments after beating more than a dozen other contestants in the senior division of the annual contest. While some scooped the ice cream from Styrofoam bowls with their fingers or actually used a plastic spoon provided, Starner peeled away the insulation and held the frozen treat with both hands and ate it like an apple in large bites as a small cheering section urged some to "shove it in there.