While visiting one of my favorite blogs, Everton Terrace, I was blown away to discover that the Popsicle was invented in my hometown!
"Once upon a time people danced on the stage, lounged on the beach and swam in the pool. They awed at champion swimmers like Johnny Weissmuller and muscle bound men like Jack LaLane. They rode on the hand-carved carousel and screamed while aboard the roller coaster as it dipped and rose and dipped again."
Once upon a time at Neptune Beach.
"In 1905, Frank Epperson, then only 11 years old, left a stir stick in a mixture of powdered flavored soda and water out on the porch. That night, temperatures in San Francisco reached a record low. When Epperson woke the next morning, he discovered the drink had frozen to the stir stick, creating a fruit flavored 'icicle', a treat he had named the Episicle."
"He then waited 18 years before releasing it to the public. In 1922, the ice-lollipop was introduced to the public for the first time at an Alameda, California amusement park, Neptune Beach."
"In 1924, Frank Epperson applied for a patent for "frozen confectionary" called the Episicle ice pop, which he renamed the Popsicle, allegedly at the instigation of his children."
"Neptune Beach opened in 1917 - three years before the Twenties began to roar. Admission was just a dime, although most everyone knew that you could swim into the park for free."
"Neptune Beach closed down for good in 1939. Some blamed the Great Depression for the park's demise, although the Bay Bridge, which opened three years earlier, was the more likely culprit. The same people who danced and lounged and swam at Neptune Beach could now go further afield - even to the Pacific Ocean - without leaving their cars."
"Though many do not know it, both the Popsicle and the snow cone were invented at Neptune Beach. The Kewpie doll, hand painted and dressed in unique hand sewn dresses, became the original prize for winning games at the beach - another Neptune Beach invention!"
Click to watch Dan X Solo reminisce about the "good ole days"
in Neptune Beach Revisited
(Be sure to click full screen)
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