ARLINGTON — It’s an iconic part of the summer season here in Vermont. Generations of families gather at the remaining iconic roadside mom-and-pop ice cream stands that dot the landscape for those few glorious months before they once again shutter for a Vermont winter until another hopeful spring arrives. There is a mixed feeling this time of year here in Vermont as we celebrate the glorious fall foliage, set the pumpkins out, check the wood pile to make sure there’s enough for the woodstoves, and trade the air conditioning units for extra wool blankets.
Along with those seasonal transitions comes the inevitable closings of those favorite places for maple creamies, soft-serve, and good, old-fashioned nostalgia before winter comes calling. “These people are my family,” said Trish Snow, who, along with her husband, Steven Maisto, owns Snow’s Arlington Dairy Bar. Both owners have been running the 60-plus-year-old business since 2017.
They bought the stand from her father, the third owner in all that time. Both say they love the place and the generations of people who show up every summer season. “It’s really amazing and so nostalgic,” Trish said in between orders of hamburgers and strawberry shakes.
“This brings back so many memories of my dad being here and all of his stories. We love it. Every day, when we come to work, we just love what we do.
We just had a guy here the other day from Maine, telling us how this brought him back to his childhood, the windows.