On any Monday afternoon in July, children gather to celebrate their shared love. Love for America. And love for ice cream.
The Eskimo King ice cream shop is nestled on Market Street in Swansea. The store still exudes the feel of an old-fashioned mom-and-pop ice cream shop, spreading warmth with cones, cups, cookies, or chocolate-dipped waffle cones.
The small shop offers an astonishing 350 flavors – from caramel nut crunch to “shark bite” and everything in between that you can imagine – in all the colors of the rainbow. But on Mondays this month, their feature is red, white, and blue (the colors of the American flag).
Accompanied by the staff singing songs about America, children make their way to the outdoor service window adorned with flags, where the staff distribute free ice cream to all the adorable kids.
There’s just one condition.
“Twelve and under, if they can recite the Pledge of Allegiance from memory,” 67-year-old Eskimo King Ice Cream Shop owner Nancy Diemoz told Epoch Times, “If they have older siblings, sometimes the staff will help them if they’re lingering at the window.”
Diemoz said that if a child gets stuck on the word “indivisible” or elsewhere and can’t remember, the girls at the register will help them out. So regardless, “everyone gets their ice cream,” she said.
This small town in Massachusetts, just next to Bristol, Rhode Island, attracts visitors every July 4th for the parade, adorned head to toe in red, white, and blue decorations, also drawn to the ice cream.
“The town is full of patriotic spirit, so our ice cream shop fits right in,” Ms. Diemoz said.
The Eskimo King ice cream shop is more than happy to serve.
But relying solely on the 4th of July isn’t enough to satisfy Ms. Diemoz’s patriotic spirit. She strongly believes “patriotism is a great thing,” and her celebrations extend into August. “We live in a great country. We should support this country and be proud of it,” she said.
For decades, Eskimo King Ice Cream Shop has been a landmark in Swansea. In the 1970s, Ms. Diemoz was an employee there. Her family bought the business in 2000, and when she began running Eskimo King Ice Cream Shop 24 years ago, they had only 24 flavors.
“Over the years, we’ve been adding and creating new flavors,” she said, “Everyone who works here gets involved and comes up with different flavors. That’s why we have over 350 flavors.”
She noted that these girls helped shape Eskimo King Ice Cream Shop into what it is today, adding, “We have everything you can think of. If you can think it, if you can dream of a flavor, we can do it.”
Offering free ice cream to those reciting the Pledge was not a plan designed by Ms. Diemoz. The idea struck her 14 years ago. In 2010, she saw an ad in the national ice cream retailer magazine “National Dipper,” by Stratton Leopold, a Savannah, Georgia ice cream shop owner.
“He was calling on other ice cream shops to do the same,” Ms. Diemoz said, “So we joined in, and we’ve been doing it ever since.”
From 4 to 7, the Eskimo King Ice Cream Shop staff goes above and beyond to make it happen. Offering free service for the reciters of the pledge brings in new children and plenty of repeat customers every week, not just on Mondays. On sunny July afternoons, it weaves the community with timeless American moments, serving up cool treats beloved by all.
“One nation under God, indivisible.” (Note: This is a line from the Pledge of Allegiance)
There’s freedom, and there’s ice cream loved by all.
“It’s fun. The kids love it. They’re proud of themselves. The parents are proud of them,” Ms. Diemoz said, “We enjoy the clapping and the happiness. There are always lots of kids here every Monday.”
The original article “Patriot Ice Cream Shop Rewards Free Soft Serve to Kids Able to Recite Pledge of Allegiance Thru July” was published on the English version of Epoch Times website.