567. Pensacola's Polar Ice Cream Company 1919

Updated: Mar 19, 2022

For most of us old timers of the 1950's and 60's we remember so well the Polar Ice Cream Company being on West Gregory Street at "A" Street. Great milkshakes and ice cream cones! School classes even took their young charges there for field trips and creamy delights! The recipe for ice cream as we know it today is credited to Thomas Jefferson who popularized the dessert in the White House. The manufacturing of it dates back to 1851, but it has always been a favorite in Pensacola as indicated by the number of stores that sold it. But the Polar Ice Cream Company was originally established at 501 N. Devilliers Street around 1919 by the owner of the Central Drugstore, Dr. William Crittenden Dewberry (1866-1931). His VP was George Angeleto with McKee B. Scott Jr. as the Secretary & Treasurer. By 1927, James S. Hayes had become the president of the company after which time they moved their location (c1931) to 530 West Garden Street. In 1936, Herbert P. Caro had taken over the managership and the name changed to the Polar Ice Cream & Creamery Company. Two years later, George H. Stringfield had taken control and by 1949 the company had moved once again to 639 West Gregory Street.

One memory of the old timers about the Polar Company involved two Pensacola City Police officers back in the day when they traveled two to a squad car. One of them always wanted to be the driver and the other did not care. So for years, they worked as partners and every night on patrol they would stop and get a milkshake when it was at 639 West Gregory. The driver would always pull out his own quarter then get his nightly .25 from his partner and go in and return with the two delicious ice-cold shakes. This went on for years until the driver got sick one day and could not come to work. So his partner was forced to work the shift alone but was still addicted to his nightly shake. He pulled up to the Polar building and went inside and ordered his tasty treat. When delivered, he placed his .25 on the counter and started to leave. The manager said "Hey, what's this for?" The officer said, "For the shake?" The manager replied, "these have always been free for our boys in blue!" Dumbfounded, the officer asked, "how long has this been going on?" The manager replied, "Always!" Makes you wonder if they remained partners?

The below advertisements show the change in the Polar locations, production difficulties, and different marketing strategies for their product.