I've long been a fan of the Nutty Buddy, an ice cream cone, commonly filled with vanilla ice cream, where the top is covered in chocolate and nuts. When the ice cream truck showed up in the neighborhood, I might choose a Nutty Buddy. When I was growing up, there was only one kind of Nutty Buddy, but today, there are multiple variations, and they are also sometimes known by different names.
However, after I conducted more in-depth research, I learned the truth. First, the existence of the Drumstick predated the Nutty Buddy, by about twenty years. Second, although the Nutty Buddy existed at least as early as 1950, it didn't show up in Massachusetts until the 1960s. Third, the evidence makes it clear that the Nutty Buddy was not invented by the Seymour Ice Cream Company.
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The Drumstick, usually referred to at the time as the "Frozen Drumstick," was created by I.C. Parker, an advertising or sales manager for the Pangburn Ice Cream & Candy Co. in Fort Worth, Texas. Pangburn was established around 1912, and was a pioneer ice cream factory in Texas, and five years later, they began manufacturing candy as well.
The Manufacturing Confectioner (July 1931) noted that I.C. Parker had received a trademark for "Drumstick," whose use had been claimed since March 11, 1931. The Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent Office (August 1931) also mentioned the "Frozen Drumstick," under #13,379, and that it was "For Ice Cream Product Consisting of an Ice Cream Cone Dipped in Candy Coating, Etc."
What was the Drumstick? The Abilene Daily Reporter (TX), April 13, 1931, mentioned that Pangburn had recently added a novelty feature to their offerings, the “Drumstick.” It was “a chocolate nut sundae in cone form—ice cream center with firm chocolate coat thickly covered with nut particles.” It then noted, “When slipped from its tidy Pangburn paper cover, the ‘drumstick’ looks mightily like a crispy browned chicken leg.” The article continued, “The novelty was introduced a few week ago in Fort Worth and is now on the wholesale ice cream delivery routes in Abilene.”
When did the Nutty Buddy first appear in Massachusetts? Not until 1962!
The North Adams Transcript, June 14, 1962, published an ad for Sealtest Ice Cream and their “Sealtest Nutty Buddy.” The ad noted, “All the goodness of a chocolate nut sundae in a crisp honey roll cone!”
There was another ad in The Republican, October 28, 1965, for Cumberland Farms. It offered a 6-pack of Nutty Buddy, on sale for only 49 cents, 10 cents less than its regular price of 59 cents. There would be a number of additional Cumberland ads during the later 1960s mentioning the Nutty Buddy.
The Manufacturing Confectioner (July 1931) noted that I.C. Parker had received a trademark for "Drumstick," whose use had been claimed since March 11, 1931. The Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent Office (August 1931) also mentioned the "Frozen Drumstick," under #13,379, and that it was "For Ice Cream Product Consisting of an Ice Cream Cone Dipped in Candy Coating, Etc."
What was the Drumstick? The Abilene Daily Reporter (TX), April 13, 1931, mentioned that Pangburn had recently added a novelty feature to their offerings, the “Drumstick.” It was “a chocolate nut sundae in cone form—ice cream center with firm chocolate coat thickly covered with nut particles.” It then noted, “When slipped from its tidy Pangburn paper cover, the ‘drumstick’ looks mightily like a crispy browned chicken leg.” The article continued, “The novelty was introduced a few week ago in Fort Worth and is now on the wholesale ice cream delivery routes in Abilene.”
The description is basically the same as the Nutty Buddy, so it's easy to understand the ancestry of the Nutty Buddy.
The first advertisement, pictured above, for the Frozen Drumstick appeared in the Abilene Daily Reporter (TX), April 16, 1931. It noted that it was a "Chocolate Nut Sundae" and sold for 5 cents. Keep the picture in your mind as when ads for the Nutty Buddy arise, twenty years later, its picture is basically the same.
Although the Frozen Drumstick began in Texas, only four months later, it started to appear in other states, starting with California. The News-Pilot (CA), August 7, 1931, published an ad for "Gibson’s Frozen Drumstick" which was “An Ice Cream Cone filled with Gibson’s Ice Cream and topped with nuts." It was also stated that it was “The latest and most delicious 5c seller on the market.” The next day, another ad in the News-Pilot (CA), August 8, 1931, further described Gibson’s Frozen Drumstick as “An Ice Cream Cone filled with Gibson’s Ice Cream, Dipped in Chocolate, and topped with nuts.”
The Contra Costa Times (CA), September 17, 1931, presented an ad for MacMarr Stores, which mentioned Frozen Drumsticks, described as “The newest ice cream confection—a hand rolled chocolate cone, heaping full of Dairyland Ice Cream, dipped in chocolate and crushed peanuts. Looks just like a chicken or turkey leg, and it costs only 5c.”
During the rest of the 1930s, there were ads mentioning the Frozen Drumstick in Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Interestingly, there weren't any references in any of the New England states. In fact, there wasn't a mention of the Frozen Drumstick in Massachusetts for at least 50 years.
The Santa Ana Daily Register (CA), February 9, 1939, published an ad for Sontag Drug Stores, noting that the Frozen Drumstick was “An ice cream nut sundae in a cone…ice cream, chocolate, nuts and cake! Something entirely new in a frozen confection.” This is the only ad to mention it contained cake, although other ads sometimes mentioned it was served in a "cake cone."
The Tri-Country Forum (MN), March 7, 1940, had an ad for Land O’Lakes Frozen Drumsticks, noting it was “A sugar cake cone cooked in chocolate—filled with Ice Cream—covered with chocolate and rolled in toasted nuts.”
The Ice Cream Field (May 1950), posted an ad for the Frozen Drumstick, with a picture of the drumstick.
The Nutty Buddy finally appeared, nearly 20 years after the Frozen Drumstick! The Ice Cream Field, October 1950, published an ad for Flare-Tops, which sold Cake Cones and Cake Cups, and had 14 bakeries across the country, including the Eastern Baking Co., in Chelsea, MA, and the Maryland Baking Co. in Baltimore, MD. One of their products was the “Nutty-Buddy,” pictured above, looking exactly like a Frozen Drumstick. It appears this was just a different name for the Drumstick.
The Statesman Journal (OR), April 6, 1951, had an ad for Piggly Wiggly, offering a “Nutty Buddy Ice Cream Cone” for 10 cents.
The Oregon Daily Journal (OR), May 18, 1951, published the above ad for Arctic Ice Cream, noting the Nutty Buddy, “A Chocolate Nut Sundae.” It comes “In an old Fashioned Honey Roll Sugar Cone” which is “Filled with Arctic Ice Cream Chocolate Coated Rolled in Nuts.” And the picture once again resembles those of the Frozen Drumstick.
The Lewistown Daily New (Montana), August 2, 1951, had an ad for the Lewistown Market which stocked “Nutty Buddies.”
The Free-Lance Star (VA), October 17, 1951, had an almost exact ad to the previous Arctic Ice Cream ad in Oregon.
The Town Talk (LA), April 25, 1952, published the above ad for a new store, Cree-Mee, which offered a "Nutty Buddy,” described as "A chocolate nut sundae in a crisp honey roll sugar cone." During the rest of the 1950s, other ads for the Nutty Buddy appeared in Alaska, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. No ads for the Nutty Buddy appeared in Massachusetts during the 1950s.
On June 27, 1958, the Maryland Baking Company, of Baltimore, MD, filed with the U.S. Patent Office for the "Nutty Buddy, for Ice Cream Cones." They noted that the first use of the term was on or about October 6, 1949. This could not have occurred if the Seymour Ice Cream Company had actually invented the Nutty Buddy.
Although the Frozen Drumstick began in Texas, only four months later, it started to appear in other states, starting with California. The News-Pilot (CA), August 7, 1931, published an ad for "Gibson’s Frozen Drumstick" which was “An Ice Cream Cone filled with Gibson’s Ice Cream and topped with nuts." It was also stated that it was “The latest and most delicious 5c seller on the market.” The next day, another ad in the News-Pilot (CA), August 8, 1931, further described Gibson’s Frozen Drumstick as “An Ice Cream Cone filled with Gibson’s Ice Cream, Dipped in Chocolate, and topped with nuts.”
The Contra Costa Times (CA), September 17, 1931, presented an ad for MacMarr Stores, which mentioned Frozen Drumsticks, described as “The newest ice cream confection—a hand rolled chocolate cone, heaping full of Dairyland Ice Cream, dipped in chocolate and crushed peanuts. Looks just like a chicken or turkey leg, and it costs only 5c.”
During the rest of the 1930s, there were ads mentioning the Frozen Drumstick in Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Interestingly, there weren't any references in any of the New England states. In fact, there wasn't a mention of the Frozen Drumstick in Massachusetts for at least 50 years.
The Lewistown Daily New (Montana), August 2, 1951, had an ad for the Lewistown Market which stocked “Nutty Buddies.”
On June 27, 1958, the Maryland Baking Company, of Baltimore, MD, filed with the U.S. Patent Office for the "Nutty Buddy, for Ice Cream Cones." They noted that the first use of the term was on or about October 6, 1949. This could not have occurred if the Seymour Ice Cream Company had actually invented the Nutty Buddy.
When did the Nutty Buddy first appear in Massachusetts? Not until 1962!
There was another ad in The Republican, October 28, 1965, for Cumberland Farms. It offered a 6-pack of Nutty Buddy, on sale for only 49 cents, 10 cents less than its regular price of 59 cents. There would be a number of additional Cumberland ads during the later 1960s mentioning the Nutty Buddy.
There weren't any articles or advertisements during the 1960s which connected Seymour Ice Cream Company and the Nutty Buddy. Their alleged invention of this ice cream treat appears to be merely a myth.
The blog of the Dorchester Historical Society had some interesting information about this issue, including a statement by Paul Samuelian, whose family started Seymour Ice Cream. Paul claimed "Some where in the 1960’s the “Nutty Buddy” was born named after Buddy Seymour who was my Great Uncle Mike’s son." Clearly this claim is false as the Nutty Buddy has been around since at least 1950. And there is no other evidence that indicates Seymour invented it.
However, the blog also had a line which might be more indicative of the truth. It stated, "The Seymours Ice Cream Company had the sole franchise in New England to manufacture the Nutty Buddy product from the Sweetheart Cup Company." This indicates Seymour didn't invent the Nutty Buddy but instead received a franchise from another company to produce them in New England. If Seymour had invented it, they would have been the ones offering franchises to other companies. This certainly makes much more sense when we consider the history of the Nutty Buddy.
However, the blog also had a line which might be more indicative of the truth. It stated, "The Seymours Ice Cream Company had the sole franchise in New England to manufacture the Nutty Buddy product from the Sweetheart Cup Company." This indicates Seymour didn't invent the Nutty Buddy but instead received a franchise from another company to produce them in New England. If Seymour had invented it, they would have been the ones offering franchises to other companies. This certainly makes much more sense when we consider the history of the Nutty Buddy.
In addition, I previously mentioned that the Maryland Baking Company had filed with the U.S. Patent Office for the Nutty Buddy. The Maryland Baking Company was connected to the Sweetheart Cup Company, so they obviously could have sold franchises to ice cream companies to produce the Nutty Buddy. And that is most likely what happened with the Seymour Ice Cream Company. They did not invent the Nutty Buddy.
Do you enjoy the Nutty Buddy?
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