Screaming Over Ice Cream

Two American Towns Battle To Be Considered The Birthplace Of The Sundae

(CBS)  This story was first broadcast on Aug. 25, 2006.

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Two Rivers, Wis., located on the shores of Lake Michigan, has one of the largest historical markers you'll ever see, reports CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman: 28 square feet of space paying homage to the ice cream sundae.

"This is the home of the sundae," says Greg Buckley, the town manager. He says it was a guy named Ed Berners who came up with the idea, making ice cream history.

But not quite. To make a short story long, there's another version, set in Ithaca, N.Y.

"I firmly believe Ithaca is home to the sundae now," says Bruce Stoff of the Ithaca Visitors' Bureau. "I'm 100 percent sure."

Stoff says the sundae was first created at the Plat and Colt Pharmacy. They even have a marker to note it, just like Two Rivers.

A feud over bragging rights began last summer, when Stoff started promoting Ithaca as the sundae's true birthplace. Two Rivers then issued a proclamation demanding, mostly tongue-in-cheek, that Ithaca cease and desist with its claim, since Two Rivers was the sundae's true birthplace.

Ithaca responded with an ad in Two Rivers' newspaper, basically saying: "Oh yeah, prove it."

Two Rivers said, "You prove it," and Ithaca said, "OK."

Stoff went back through the old Ithaca Journal newspapers, and in a paper dated April 5, 1892, he found a tiny ad:

Cherry Sunday
A New 10 Cent Ice Cream Specialty Served Only At Platt And Colt's

Back in Twin Rivers, Buckley won't concede Ithaca has won the title. He says, "We would concede they're the birthplace for newspaper advertising for the ice cream sundae."

Buckley says Berners invented the sundae 10 years before that ad. His town isn't giving up — they've even got a fight song.

Needless to say, the war continues to escalate. And, as Hartman notes, although there may never be a true victor, at least in this war, both sides get the spoils.

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Last week, two recent graduates of Ithaca High School said they'd found an old newspaper story that proves the sundae was created in their town. But Two Rivers still isn't ready to surrender.

[kitkay]

Sounds like a marketing scheme to me. We always knew it was Two Rivers - Charles Peterson painted the picture of the soda fountain.

Kay Martin
Menasha, WI

[robbihill1]

well here is a little history lesson for everyone for you.

The sundae is said to have originated in the late 19th century because moralists decried the consumption of carbonated soda on Sunday . . . Even in the popular weekend treat, ice-cream sodas. The noncorruptive "dry" version of that treat was ice cream topped with syrup and named after the day on which soda was banned. The spelling of this frozen confection was changed to "sundae" so as not to be sacrilegious.

Gretchen Sachse of the Tompkins County, New York and the DeWitt Historical Society provides this account of how the sundae came to be: One hot Sunday afternoon in 1891 in Ithaca, New York, John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church pastor, and Chester Platt, Platt & Colt Pharmacy partner, created the first known sundae. Mr. Platt covered dishes of ice cream with syrup and candied cherries on a whim. The Platt & Colt soda fountain featured sundaes thereafter.

Even Dolly Madison served Jefferson Ice cream with maple syrup on it during his term in office in the early 1800's.


So what is the origin of this interesting desert?? Thanks to the amazing internet all kinds of information is available. My vote is for Ithica, since the story seems to be more informativie about how and why it came about.

[gwenraz]

Wait a minute...What about Evanston, Illinois where the sundae was invented when alcohol was banned...on Sundays. The National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, an organization based here, started it all.

[anaconda99]

Why would it be a marketing scheme? It's like filing for a patent--u file, IT'S YOURS! Besides--I think NEW YORK STATE WAS HERE, before 2 rivers. Deal with it. We have cows up here too! My vote......ITHACA

[trman58]

The TR story is from 10 years before Ithaca's story. There are still people alive today who remember Ed Berners and remember him telling the story of how the sundae came about - including when it happened. CBS didn't include the whole TR story, which you can read at http://www.tworiverseconomicdevelopment.org/relocation/history-sundae.htm

By the way, hello to everyone in Ithaca. We here in Two Rivers are enjoying our friendly little sundae war. Come on out and visit us sometime. We've learned a lot about Ithaca and some residents have already been out there this summer. And thanks to the biker who littered our downtown with your Ithaca bumper stickers!!!! That was a neat little prank - and thanks for putting the stickers on our downtown benches in a way in which they were easily removed. Hope you enjoyed your trip on the car ferry on the way to Sturgis.

[gazzelle1]

The Ithaca/Two Rivers controversy won't be resolved until someone comes up with sunDNA testing.

[lewiston14]

What sounds even better a rootbeer float. Big scooop of vanilia ice cream and fill it up with rootbeer. A long spoon and a straw and your all set. Don't matter where it comes from as long as it's good. I miss those real ice cream parlors of along time ago.