The Ice Cream Man

When Gary Scoville starts the music to his 1976 Cushman and makes his way down the streets of Hillsdale, kids and adults suddenly appear on street curbs.

Scoville’s Cushman — a metermaid vehicle — has been transformed into what looks like an ice cream train on wheels.

Scoville has delivered frozen treats with Gramp’s Ice Cream Co. around the community of Hillsdale for the last 22 years.

He started off as a substitute driver for his daughter, who drove for the previous owner, and that was all it took to convince him that he needed to make an investment.

“I had no idea I would enjoy it,” Scoville said. “But I did, and the next year I bought the business.”

Scoville also drives a 1965 three-quarter-ton Dodge truck that he takes into Jonesville.

“People chase me down on all kinds of conveyances,” Scoville said. “Inline skates, running, horses, all-terrain vehicles and, of course, automobiles.”

Though Scoville thinks that it may be a dying business, he stills tries to keep his ice cream prices low.

“I’m not looking to get rich, and I have kept my prices as low as I can and not lose money,” Scoville said. “If you can only afford 50 cents, that’s OK.”

Scoville doesn’t have any plans to leave the ice cream business.

“I will keep doing it either till I or the equipment breaks down,” Scoville said.

Images Property of the Jackson Citizen Patriot