SC-YMCA Celebrated Val’s Day and African American History Month

The Sussex County YMCA Celebrated Valentine’s Day with a “Scoop of Love”. The YMCA attendees both young and old had free scoops of chocolate or vanilla ice cream (contributed by Dairy Swirl of Vernon) with sliced bananas or sprinkles. The YMCA incorporates youth development with social responsibility in their community. They not only create fun activities, they also engage young minds with social awareness. The free ice cream was tied to Black History Month and the YMCA spotlighted and honored a great African American businessman and inventor of today’s ice cream scoop – Alfred L Cralle. A poster was displayed with a photo of Alfred L Cralle and credits to his 1897 invention that we still use today.

Attendees who had a dish of ice cream found curiosity in looking up more history of Alfred L Cralle. An awesome site to find is at blackpast.org. Here is some referenced info on this inventor –

Alfred L. Cralle was an African American businessman and inventor who was best known for inventing the ice cream scoop in 1897. Cralle was born on September 4, 1866, in Virginia. In his youth he had shown an aptitude for mechanics and was sent to Washington D.C. where he attended Wayland Seminary, a branch of the National Theological Institute. It was one of a few rising educational institutes devoted to educating African Americans. It was founded by the American Baptist Home Mission Society immediately after the Civil War. The schools were first established to help educate newly freed slaves.

After his education, Cralle eventually moved to a bigger city to find work at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hotel. He observed how ice cream tended to stick to spoons and ladles making the server use two hands and two separate tools to serve it. Cralle responded to that problem by creating a mechanical device now known as the ice cream scoop. He applied for and received a patent on February 2, 1897. At the age thirty-he was granted U.S. Patent #576395. He called it the Ice Cream Mold and Disher.

Until today, so few knew the story behind the great American ice cream scoop. Unfortunately, Cralle did not become famous for inventing his ice cream scoop in his lifetime even though his invention had spread so quick and wide. People just soon forgot or never knew Cralle as the rightful inventor and he never reaped the profits of having a very popular invention that is still used today 123 years later.

Thank you Sussex County YMCA for letting us know about this cool inventor.