Ice Cream

By Anne Chovey Special to The Herald-Mail Byers Stop-N-Go, 152 Burhans Blvd., is hard to describe. The shop stretches across several store fronts. It is part grocery store, part deli, part ice cream shop and part check-cashing service. Somehow it all works. A friend of mine recommended the chicken at Byers so I thought I would check it out. I found the front door and entered into a very busy place. To the right was a large room that contained the check-cashing, coin-counting and bill-paying services.

Jugglers, a giant slide and informational stations covered the grounds of Gateway Crossing Wednesday during the Hagerstown Housing Authority's annual Community Fair. Diane Rudisill, director of resident services for the housing authority, said the fair offers children a chance to play and their parents an opportunity to discover programs that are designed to help them become more self-sufficient. Rudisill said housing authority residents comprise low- to middle-income individuals and families.

While the All-Stars enjoyed ice cream at Smitty's Williamsport Creamery on Wednesday, Walter Williams, general manager for Conococheague Little League, was all smiles as he accepted checks on their behalf. Bill Green, town councilman and Bike Nite committee chairman, presented Conococheague Little League with two checks - one from funds raised during Bike Nite and a check from the Williamsport Town Council. Green said that the Bike Nite committee had planned to distribute funds to local nonprofits at the September town council meeting, but Conococheague Little League's win in the 11-12 state tournament prompted some immediate action.

Eating ice cream to beat the summer heat is one of America's favorite pastimes.   Homemade ice cream can be a special treat, but it can also become a threat because of salmonellosis. While commercially manufactured ice cream is typically made with pasteurized eggs or egg products, recipes for homemade ice cream often use raw eggs in the base mixture. If your favorite ice cream recipe uses uncooked eggs, it is time to replace or revise it. Those raw eggs may contain salmonella bacteria that can cause foodborne illness.

Ice cream in a bag   1 gallon zipper-style bag (freezer)  1 quart zipper-style bag    4 cups ice  1 cup rock/table salt  1/4 cup sugar  1 cup milk (skim, 1 percent, 2 percent whole)  1 cup half and half  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract  1. Pour the milk, vanilla extract and sugar into the quart zipper bag. Squeeze as much air out as possible, mix well and seal the bag carefully. 2. Place the quart zipper bag into the gallon bag. Cover with ice and salt.

July is National Ice Cream Month, or so I am told. Many people like me will invent reasons to eat ice cream, so if it isn't National Ice Cream Month, then it should be. Come on, this is the month the mercury flirts with 100, so why not eat ice cream. I am sure in our hurried workday world, few people take the time to make their own ice cream anymore. I am also sure if you asked someone if they have an ice cream freezer, they would look puzzled and say no, but they have them in the grocery store.

“You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream” or at least that’s what Caroline Holmes is hoping Greencastle folks will chant later this month. There are hundreds of different flavors of ice cream, but the 11-year-old Greencastle girl came up with a new ice-cream flavor — Caroline’s Red White and Blue — with the money raised from sales of it going to local charities. While visiting her cousin in Connecticut, she entered a Create a Flavor, Change the World contest at Ashley’s Ice Cream shop there.

As June ends, the Fourth of July celebration is just around the corner. For the holiday weekend, Hancock has a unique event just for kids. Charlie’s third annual Kids’ Bike Parade takes place Saturday at the C&O Bicycle Shop on South Pennsylvania Avenue. Bike decorating begins at 9:30 a.m. just outside the shop.   The parade will roll at 10 a.m. with Hancock Police Chief T.J. Buskirk in the lead.   The bike parade travels along the Western Maryland Rail Trail and crosses the canal at the old iron bridge, then travels along the towpath before coming back across at the boat ramp bridge.

A decommissioned military base came alive with local culture this past weekend for the Mountain Top Heritage Days festival. The two-day event started with a parade Saturday morning, and featured 60 craft and business vendors, 15 food vendors and lots to do for the whole family at the former Fort Ritchie Army base. Bill Carter, chairman of the One Mountain Foundation, which is the umbrella organization for the festival, said the event typically draws 10,000 to 15,000 people from four intersecting counties — Washington and Frederick in Maryland and Adams and Franklin in Pennsylvania — at the top of Blue Ridge Summit each year.

The Vince Tantillo/Jack E. Barr 5K Memorial Run and 1K Ice Cream Run will be held Saturday, June 18, at the corner of Oak Hill and Northern avenues in Hagerstown. The 5K run begins at 8:30 a.m. The 1K Ice Cream Run, for ages 4 to 12, begins at 9:30 a.m. Cash prizes will be awarded for male, female masters and top three finishers. Trophies will be given to the top three finishers in seven age groups. Registration fee is $20 memorial run; $12 for ice cream run. To register, call 301-739-3990.