Monday, November 24, 2008

POPPIN’ JOHNNY ICE CREAM




THESE OLE FASHION ICE CREAM FREEZERS ARE TURNED BY THIS 1927 3 HORSEPOWER GAS ENGINE, AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN AS A POPPEN’ JOHNNY.


THE THING THAT DRAWS ME TO THIS VENDOR IS AN OLD CHILDHOOD MEMORY OF VISITING GREAT UNCLE BILL, AND THAT HE HAD ONE OF THESE POPPIN’ JOHNNY ENGINES IN HIS BASEMENT. ON OUR ANNUAL HOLIDAY VISIT, THE “OD” WOULD ALWAYS ASK UNCLE BILL TO TAKE US TO THE BASEMENT AND FIRE UP THE ENGINE. THE ENGINE ONLY FIRES EVERY EIGHT REVOLUTIONS OF THE FLY WHEEL MAKING THE POPPIN’ SOUND FROM WHERE IT GETS ITS NICKNAME.




I KNOW THIS OLD MEMORY WILL MAKE MY MOTHER SMILE, AS WELL AS MY TWO BROTHERS. THE VENDOR KEEPS THE ENGINE RUNNING AS A WAY OF ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS WITH THE POPPIN’ SOUND AND WHITE PUFF OF EXHAUST.

GETS ME EVERY TIME…..

“SUNNY & 80” (PERFECT ICE CREAM WEATHER)





THE PUNCH LINE
"Sarah Palin says she wants to be bipartisan; she would like to help Barack Obama. And I thought, hasn't she helped him already?" -- David Letterman

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great old memory! All those old two cylinder John Deere tractors sound the same at idle. About 1960, for reasons still unclear to me, the company abandoned that distinctive format and went from a horizontal two cylinder to a vertical four cylinder like everyone else. The beautiful popping song was lost. If you use your imagination, an idling Harley sounds similar, and the V-twin cylinder design is similar and about the same age as the old Johnnies. That unique sound is coveted and imitated the world around!


Hans

Anonymous said...

can we get a video on that pop'in johnny?