Once Upon a Time, These Ice Cream Shops Ruled Maine and New Hampshire

There was a long period of time in Maine and New Hampshire where if you thought about ice cream, you thought about Deering's. Deering Ice Cream is credited as being the oldest ice cream maker in New England, when they were founded all the way back in 1886.

For more than a century, they were the ice cream brand to seek out, mostly because of their multiple locations across New England, but also because Deering Ice Cream made visiting those locations so much fun.

So how did they do it? By dressing up their ice cream for kids and adults alike. Rather than just serve up a standard sundae you could get anywhere, Deering Ice Cream made their sundaes extra special.

Favorites included the Merry Go Round, made with delicious animal crackers, the Kookie Mouse, and the classic Deering Clown Sundae (truly every child's favorite). That scoop of ice cream with a sugar cone cap, whipped cream, and a cherry for the bright red nose brought more smiles to people in Maine and New Hampshire than can be counted.

And for many decades, there was a Deering Ice Cream location seemingly everywhere. Whether it was St. John Street in Portland, The Auburn Mall, Sanford, Saco, etc., you didn't have to travel too far to find yourself a Deering Ice Cream Shop. That includes this one that existed in South Portland.

But alas, like many businesses before it and many more in the future, Deering ran into financial trouble. As the Bangor Daily News details, the company was sold in 1992 to an investment group, and a piece of many Maine and New Hampshire kids youth went along with it.

All that's left of Deering Ice Cream are the memories and a few pieces of memorabilia people are peddling online, including a few signs, some china, and other small collectables that available for the right price. But for so many of us that have spent our lives in this area, Deering Ice Cream will always be *that* place where we fell in love with ice cream.