1941- 1945

The war years brought many changes to the dairy as well as to other small businesses.  A side platform was added to the ice cream stand making it possible to serve from seven windows instead of four.  A soda fountain, sundae split table and many other things were added at this time.  Gas was rationed as well as fats and sugars.  The ration of sugar was based on a year’s use preceding 1941.  The business had grown so much that the ration of sugar was not enough for the volume of business.  The ice cream stand had to close Tues.,Wed.,and Thurs., some weeks especially during the hot summer months because of the shortages.  Specific hours were also initiated.  Before this, the ice cream stand used to stay open at night until there were no more customers or until  after the late show got out at the People’s Theater in Maynard.  Ice cream was limited to eight servings per customer and no Bulk such as quarts and pints were sold during this period.  The lines were so long and often several members of one family would stand in line to buy their limit of ice cream because desserts could not be made at home.  The serving was a smaller portion in weight than what we serve today but, people seemed to think they were huge.  The ice cream business continued to close on Wednesdays each year until the 1970’s because we found it was nice to have one day free a week.

During this time, milk home deliveries and schedules were reduced from every day to every other day to conserve gas and allow those on the home front to work for the war effort.  This method of scheduling deliveries proved so satisfactory that it remained until long after the war.