Captain Frosty Still Sails at Lorain County Fair

One of the things that I always watch for at the Lorain County Fair is the Dairy Clipper ice cream stand emblazoned with the friendly likeness of Captain Frosty at the wheel. I've seen that stand at the Fair as long as I can remember.

Here’s the 2011 version of the booth.

And here’s what it looked like in 2013.

In recent years, however, the booth has updated its graphics, and the Dairy Clipper name seems to have disappeared. But Captain Frosty is still there. Here’s the booth as it looked Thursday night.

So what's the seafaring story behind Captain Frosty and his Dairy Clipper?

Dairy Clipper was the brand name for the soft serve ice cream trucks leased through Mobile Dairy Bars, Inc., headquartered right here in Ohio in Washington Court House. The company dates back to 1957.

Here's an early classified ad that ran in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette on June 2, 1958.

Here's a great 1962 newspaper ad designed to condition the kids to react in Pavlov's dog fashion to the sound of Captain Frosty's truck.

From the Marion Star  – March 31, 1962

Business was going well when the company decided to expand in 1965. Here's a newspaper account of the expansion that ran in the Washington Court House Record Herald on May 12, 1965.

Here's an ad featuring the classic Dairy Clipper truck that ran in the Times-Recorder on April 7, 1967.

By the end of 1973, the company had changed its name to Sales Unlimited, Inc. and was planning to move operations to Grove City, Ohio.

From Washington Court House Record Herald – December 21, 1973

Today, it's hard to tell if Sales Unlimited is still around. Captain Frosty seems to be a captain without a port to drop anchor in, except at the Lorain County Fair once a year.

Thus during the rest of the year, not unlike the Flying Dutchman of nautical legend, Captain Frosty forever sails the suburban streets of our childhood memories, perhaps on the trail of his arch enemy Mister Softee.

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Captain Frosty does wash ashore on Ebay every once in a while. Currently on the online auction site there is a tin toy that you click to make noise – in other words, a Dairy Clipper Clicker (say that fast, matey).