Soda Jerker, 1939

“Soda jerker flipping ice cream into malted milk shakes. Corpus Christi, Texas.”

When I look at this photograph by Russell Lee, it seems stir in me both hunger pangs and a sense of longing. The hunger pangs part I completely understand since I am a notorious, and self-proclaimed, ice cream addict, but the sense of longing is new for me. Perhaps I am becoming a bit nostalgic as I age, which, to be honest is a bit laughable since I am only halfway through my twenties. Maybe the longing is the fact that the only “soda jerker” I know are those at Dairy Queen or Cold Stone Creamery. Or that many people of my generation don’t know what the word ”malt” means. As much as I enjoy my modern-day conveniences, advancements and Ben & Jerry’s, I can’t help thinking that it would be interesting to have experienced some of those “Good Old Days” things.

Photo via Library of Congress