Oogie’s Ice Cream 20th Anniversary Celebration & Spread The Kindness Link Up On the Edge #810
On Saturday, I celebrated my 52nd birthday in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Oogie’s Ice Cream, my sister’s vintage ice cream truck that was named after our father. If you click the link to her website, the cover photo shows little toddler Archie with my sister’s granddaughter. It’s one of our favorite photos of all time!
When we were kids, my father rented ice cream trucks for a few consecutive summers to make some extra cash. These were the summers when I was about 10-12 years old. My sister was old enough to drive so she was put in charge of one of the trucks and I rode along to help her scoop the ice cream. It was kind of a crazy gig but we sure did laugh a lot. Those ice cream truck summers created many hilarious memories. After just a few years, my father gave up on his ice cream dreams and found some other get-rich-not-so-quick scheme to supplement his working class income.
Although his ice cream dreams faded, those summers on the truck gave birth to my sister’s own popsicle dreams. She secretly saved her cash and purchased her vintage truck outright 20 years ago. Paying homage to the man who started the dream, she named her business after our father. His birth name was Ralph Frank Montoro III but everyone who knew him called him Oogie. Nobody really knows where the nickname came from but it suited him perfectly. As many people have told me since my father’s death in 1995, “That guy was a legend!” He was very much beloved by his community, his family, and his friends and my sister is making sure that his legacy lives on through ice cream.
The weekend delivered some beautiful weather for a celebration. However, the wind proved to be a bit of a challenge but we made it work. My sister spent months preparing for this event which was rewarded with a wonderful turnout of family, friends, and Oogie’s fans. A skilled caterer, my sister not only planned every detail of the event, she also made most of the food herself. And it was all amazing!
Here are a few photos from my weekend in Pennsylvania and the Oogie’s Ice Cream 20th Anniversary celebration. You can see more pictures on the Oogie’s Facebook page. That’s my nephew Alex on the grill. He is quite the character and we always have such great laughs together!
One of the swimmers I coached before we moved to New York stopped by to visit when she saw I was going to be there. It was so wonderful to see Meredith and meet her very lovely husband Shawn!
Archie and Jeff were twinning in their red Oogie’s Ice Cream tee shirts and khaki cargo shorts. Ralph had the red shirt but not the cargos.
It was so nice to catch up with family members that I haven’t seen in a really long time. For some, we last saw them 13 years ago before we moved away from the area. For others, it’s been nearly 30 years! The reconnection was really something special, for sure.
We didn’t think to take a big family photo until after my Aunt Bev and Uncle Tommy had left so I’m including a photo of them with cousin Ann Louise and her husband Rich.
I think it might be time for a proper family reunion soon. As many families experience, my father’s family has been fractured in so many places for literally all of my life. Due to these familial breakdowns and lack of communication, we were deprived of our cousin relationships for most of our childhoods. Now that we are all in midlife and no longer “the children” of the family, we have decided to leave all the nonsense from the past right there in the past where it belongs!
Cheers to living the dream, to repairing family relationships, to Oogie’s Ice Cream, and to the man Oogie himself.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for Oogie’s Ice Cream!
Featured Favorites
Reader Favorite: Doused in Pink
Fashion Favorite: Cheryl Shops
Other Favorite: Homemade on a Weeknight
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
26 Comments
Pamela Graham
What a wonderful story and family reunion. In past times family disputes could rumble on for years – how sensible of you all to leave it behind and make the most of loving connections and allow the current kids to enjoy the extended family.
Pamela
http://www.style-yourself-confident.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Pamela! We all seem to find it a bit ridiculous to keep hanging on to our parents’ issues. It was a lovely weekend celebrating my sister and our family legacy!
xoxo
Shelbee
Joanne
Oh how neat! What a wonderful business in memory of your father and the reunion/celebration sound like it went really, really well despite the wind.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Joanne! It was a really wonderful weekend celebrating my sister’s accomplishments! I am very proud of her!
xoxo
Shelbee
Amy Johnson
What a beautiful reunion and story. I really enjoyed reading it. My husband and I both come from fractured families, it’s just so sad. I pray all the time it could be different. We tried on our end, but they can’t be reasoned with. Thanks for the party.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Amy. Hopefully, your family members will come around. But, in the words of Garth Brooks, sometimes God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. My goodness, that song lyric really hits different the older I get! Sending prayers your way, my friend. I hope you have a blessed weekend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Estelle Forrest
Thanks so much for including clouding my Farmers Market post as a favorite this week. Have a blessed weekend ahead.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you for joining us, Estelle! I hope you have a lovely weekend as well!
xoxo
Shelbee
Kim Carberry
Happy belated birthday to you and happy anniversary of Oogie’s Ice Cream. It sure sounds like you have some great memories from summers gone by.
What a great week and fab photos.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Kim! I really appreciate that. I hope you have a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Di
Happy birthday to you Shelbee! What a wonderful way to celebrate two important occasions. I think it is great that your extended family has burried the hatchet from the past, and is united again. The ice cream truck memories sounds just wonderful and your sister carrying forward your father’s business idea and making it her own is heartwarming. Hope you have a great weekend and thanks for sharing and linking up!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Di, thank you so much for this lovely comment. It was a very healing weekend. I wasn’t expecting that but it was a great bonus, for sure!
xoxo
Shelbee
Gail Is This Mutton
What a lovely story. Oogie would have been so proud of your sister for carrying on the ice cream dream! Happy birthday to you and happy anniversary Oogie’s!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aww, thanks so much, Gail! Oogie, for sure, would be super be super proud of my sister! He always was a very proud father of all of his kids. He is missed.
xoxo
Shelbee
Your True Self
Hi, Shelbee – Wow, what an fascinating story about your Dad and sister’s ice cream trucks! Thanks for sharing all the pics – Angie, http://www.yourtrueselfblog.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Angie! I hope you have a lovely weekend!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
What a lovely story about your father. There must be lovely memories indeed. And how good of you all to leave the past the past! Because that’s what it is right?
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, dear friend! I will tell you all about it on our next Zoom call!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
What a living testament to your dad and your sister’s hard work! I bet she has the same reputation as he did. Your dad sounds like just the most fun ever…I bet he’s who you get your love of life from. I loved looking at the photos of your family. I miss my siblings and their families. It’s just a 2.5 hour drive, but we never seem to make it. I think, once Mike is healed enough, it’s time. We are the older generation now so time is speeding up, and it’s time to see each other! Thanks for the link up
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Awww, thanks so much, Marsha! Everyone in my sister’s area knows and loves Oogie’s Ice Cream, that’s for sure! We said that we would get together more often now that we are the family elders but you know how that goes…everyone is always too busy. I know because I am likely the biggest culprit of the “too busy” excuse! But it sure was fun catching up with family after all these years.
xoxo
Shelbee
Paula
What a great anniversary celebration! How fun. It was so nice hearing about your family.
Visiting today from WTJR
(I have to make myself a note that your link up is on Fridays.Lol)
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Paula! It was a really special celebration, for sure. I leave my link parties open until the next one gets published so if you miss it on Friday, you can still join us until the following Friday. I hope you have a great day!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laura Bambrick
What a special celebration! I love that your sister turned those childhood ice cream truck memories into a thriving business and a tribute to your father. The photos radiate so much joy, and it was especially heartwarming to read about reconnecting with family members after so many years. Here’s to Oogie’s legacy, strong family bonds, and many more years of ice cream and happy memories!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aww, Laura, thank you so much! What a beautiful comment. I really appreciate you.
xoxo
Shelbee
Jacqui Berry
Such a great read Shelbee and haven’t the boys grown up! Nice to see you all having such a fun time too. X
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jacqui! I really appreciate that.
xoxo
Shelbee