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Soda fountain is more than a 'Grandma thing'
BENKELMAN, Neb. -- Nine-year-old Madison Barnhart and her little sister, 5-year-old Ashleigh, of Benkelman, Nebraska, check out the soda fountain in the Dundy County Museum 'most every Thursday during the summer.
With grandma Judy Aeby in tow, the girls sit on the tall stools, swinging their summer-tanned legs as they spin 'round and wait for their ice cream.
"Mom doesn't like the soda fountain," Madison says, and with a grin adds, "This is a 'Grandma-thing.'"
Volunteers for the Dundy County Historical Society and museum man the soda fountain serving ice cream treats every summer Thursday afternoon, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. MT, when the museum is also open.
The soda fountain counter came out of the Rexall drug store on main street. Lee and Howard Hamilton bought the drug store in 1920 and installed the marble soda fountain counter in 1921.
Bill Reade bought the store in 1961 and ran it until 1993 when the State Bank bought the building for its expansion. It was then that Reade donated the fountain counter to the Dundy County Historical Society.
Museum volunteer and "soda jerk" Jane Monson says the best seller at the re-created soda fountain is the "Old-Fashioned Chocolate Frosty," which was served in the community's second drug store, Moses Drug. "They sold for a nickel," said Wynona Mullanix Springer, a fellow volunteer at the museum soda fountain and a real-life "soda jerk" at Moses Drug as a young girl.
The museum is located in the original Morehouse Hospital. The soda fountain is in what was the delivery room, Jane says.
The Dundy County Museum is located at 522 Arapahoe in Benkelman, half-a-block west of the community's main street and AmFirst Bank located at 601 Chief.
Stop by the museum for a root beer float or shake or malt, and tour the museum's artifacts and displays. For private tours, contact Betty Deyle (308) 423-2750; Shirley Mullanix (308) 423-2682; or Jane Monson, (308) 423-2291.