Who Doesn't Love Ice Cream?

Especially on a warm, muggy Sunday in August!

by Barb Piscopo

With so many things turned upside-down in our world due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Lorain Historical Society's Development Committee was determined to preserve the annual tradition of an ice cream social. Their plans in 2020 were to engage a wider portion of Lorain residents, but the question remained: How can this be accomplished safely this year?

To the rescue was Maria's Ice Cream Wagon!

Prayers from Maria Children's Glioma Cancer Foundation is a nearby charity that is well-known in Lorain County for its beautiful sunflower field planted year after year along state Route 2 in Avon, Ohio. Their beauty has expanded, and they now have a second field located near Cedar Point, in bloom at a different time of the season than their original location.

Earlier this year, Prayers from Maria purchased an ice cream truck that can be rented by individuals and groups as another fun way to reach out to the community and raise funds. The truck also helps to benefit their mission to support global research into the causes, prevention, treatments, and cure for childhood brain tumors, known as gliomas. They also seek to raise awareness about this disease while bringing hope to children and families currently facing it.

On Sunday, August 9, the Lorain Historical Society and Prayers from Maria joined forces to bring ice cream to children and adults throughout the city of Lorain.

To make the event even sweeter, the Historical Society collected donations from members and friends and provided the ice cream novelties for free to children ages 18 and below.

Contributions to reach this goal came from far and wide as everyone wanted children to have free ice cream that day. The outpouring of support was so tremendous that the donations covered all the children who visited Maria's Ice Cream Wagon on August 9. Money was also available for gifting to other area organizations.

Other beneficiaries included Lorain County Community Action Agency, Neighborhood Alliance, Genesis House, and El Centro de Servicios Sociales. These organizations promised to provide a special treat for the children in Lorain who are served by their expansive programming. Additional proceeds also benefitted Prayers from Maria and the Lorain Historical Society.

On the day of the event, Maria's Ice Cream Wagon spent time at the Carnegie Center—home of the Historical Society—from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. For the remainder of the afternoon, people visited other locations throughout Lorain to receive their ice cream, savor time seeing one another (socially distanced, of course), and enjoy music provided by the talented violinist, Pablo "NeNo" Oquendo II.

The coordinator of the event and Trustee of the Lorain Historical Society, Tamika Bonilla, was assisted throughout the day by Historical Society staff and ACES, Achievement through Community Education and Support.

Maria's Ice Cream Wagon proceeded to Lakeview Park South, and families there enjoyed the sweet treats as a cool break from a game of baseball or tennis. Families even joined from across the street at Lakeview Park Beach as the sounds from NeNo's violin guided them toward the event.

From there, the ice cream truck moved on to the east side with a stop at Longfellow School. There, families drove up to the school for their ice cream before Prayers from Maria and the Lorain Historical Society concluded the day at Oakwood Park in historic South Lorain.

While this was an ideal solution to the problems COVID-19 presented the original ice cream social plans, members of the Historical Society intend on doing this again in 2021.

With or without the pandemic, this was a perfect way to bring ice cream to the wider community of Lorain and share the mission of the Historical Society with all of our families.

We hope to see you again in August 2021!