The typically bustling, congested Main Street looked like a ghost town at a midday temperature or -24 F,  the icy road surface framed with snow on either side.

When we reached the front of Mullen’s Ice Cream Shop, we had to chuckle. Looking through the steam from car exhaust, the street was lined with cars and vans. The parking lot was full and vans were pulling up, letting out hooded teens and parents to help bundled tots to the sidewalk.

As we approached the door of the shop, we were met by several young people, laughing and balancing colorful over-flowing, ice cream cones in mittened hands.

Inside the shop was warm and electrifying. Teens lined the booths, tots sat with Mom or Dad in the low soda fountain stools, and people jovially visited as they cued up just inside and across the front window, where teens lined the sill with cones in hand. Busy waiters and waitresses traveled through, taking orders or stood behind the counter, dipping  chocolate chip, cherry chunk, blue moon, and many more.

On the wall the infamous sign:

Sure enough. . . They were serving it up and it was a small-town family fun affair to watch and enjoy. A photographer traveled through asking permission to photograph the body-to-body cameraderie with smiles all around.

A real live ‘Norman Rockwell’ scene.