7 Ice Cream Treat Brands Every Kid Loved Growing Up In The '60s

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If we had to guess your favorite ice cream brand, we'd start with Häagen-Dazs. If that was wrong, we'd offer up Ben & Jerry's, or maybe Tillamook. Are any of those correct? We knew it. Okay, we had a pretty good chance of getting it right, considering these are some of the biggest and most popular ice cream brands in the country (and some of our taste testers' favorites, too).

A few decades ago, though, the ice cream market looked pretty different. Instead of heading to the freezer aisle, you might head to your local drug store for your favorite flavor. If you wanted something special, you might treat yourself to a feast of two dozen scoops, carried over by a group of four servers to the tune of sirens.

If you're wondering what on Earth we're talking about, we don't blame you. To clear things up, let's take a sweet walk down memory lane and remember some of the ice cream treats and brands every kid loved growing up in the 1960s.

Picture this: You're driving down the highway in the 1960s, and suddenly, an intense craving for ice cream washes over you. You've just whizzed past a billboard for Sealtest, of course, and now you need a slab of cherry-vanilla-flavored Checkerboard ice cream, stat. Or maybe a scoop of Cherry Nugget, or perhaps a slice of Berry Patch, with layers of raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry ice cream and real chunks of fruit. This was the experience of many kids growing up in the 1960s, because Sealtest was everywhere.

The brand was created in the 1930s by National Dairy Products (a precursor to Kraft Foods), and by the 1950s and 1960s, it was one of the most popular ice cream names in America. Kids and adults alike loved its range of creative products; its ice cream came in classic tubs and cones, but also multi-colored blocks, which you could cut and serve in slices. "I grew up with Sealtest," wrote one Facebook user in a group dedicated to memories from the 1960s. "All of their ice cream was great." Another added: "Sealtest was the best there was!"

Sealtest's once-beloved ice cream products are long gone in the U.S. But fans shouldn't give up hope of them ever making a return. Rumor has it that Unilever still has the rights to the name, after it acquired the brand from Kraft back in the 1990s.

In the 1960s, the only thing that could improve a balmy summer's day playing outside in the street with friends was the sound of the Mister Softee ice cream truck. If you grew up back then, you already know how it goes. In fact, the classic twinkly tune is probably playing in your head right now.

Mister Softee was founded in 1950s Philadelphia, and it was virtually an overnight success, mostly thanks to its syrup-slathered soft serve sundaes, but also that almost-irritatingly catchy, and let's be honest, slightly creepy, tune. By the 1960s, the ice cream trucks were in nearly 50 states across the U.S.

Mister Softee is still around now, of course, but there's no doubt that the 1960s were the brand's heyday. In fact, the trucks, which, as well as sundaes, dealt out banana boats, shakes, and soda floats to eager children, numbered more than 2,000 back then. "Couldn't wait for it to come around," wrote one person in a 1960s memories Facebook group. Another chimed in: "One of my favorites!! He had the best banana splits."

Let's start with a very quick history lesson: Back in the late 1800s, pharmacists would offer people drinks laced with drugs like cocaine and caffeine (yes, for real), as a headache remedy. Seeing how popular they were, the stores branched out, installing large soda fountains and offering ice cream (sans cocaine, fortunately). By the 1960s, it was pretty usual to indulge in ice cream at the local drug store.

Some chains even had their own signature offerings. This brings us to the beloved West Coast chain Thrifty Drug Stores, which was all about the cheap and cheerful ice cream cones. Seriously: One single scoop was just five cents — no wonder it was popular with kids at the time. "Man [we] were lucky in those days, we were [too] young to appreciate [it]," wrote one person in an Echo Park History Facebook group, reflecting on a 1960s Thrifty ice cream menu.

Thrifty Drug Stores kept selling its ice cream (scooped with its own signature scooper to get a uniform frilly shape and portion size) in its stores well into the 1970s and 1980s. It sold to the Rite Aid Corporation in the 1990s, but it kept shipping the ice cream. Sadly for Thrifty fans, though, Rite Aid is no more. It closed down in 2025, after filing for bankruptcy in 2023.

If you wanted to feel special on your birthday in the 1960s, a good place to go was Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor. Servers would sing, sirens would go off, and, if you ordered right, a stretcher full of ice cream would be ceremoniously marched toward you while the whole restaurant looked on. We told you: special.

Farrell's was founded in 1963, with an aim to bring family fun and plenty of ice cream to people across the U.S. And suffice to say, it succeeded. At its peak, it reached around 130 locations. "These were the funnest family joints around," wrote one Facebook user, reflecting on Farrell's in the 1960s. "Great atmosphere, sang you happy birthday, and had the hugest banana splits." Plenty agree. "I still remember the pin you could win if you ate the Pig Trough," added another Facebooker. "It was 24 scoops of ice cream!"

To the dismay of fans, Farrell's didn't last. In the 1970s, the chain was acquired by Marriott, and then in the late 1980s, it was sold on to another investment group. By the 1990s, those 130 locations had reduced to just one, which finally closed its doors in the early 2000s. There was a brand revival in 2009, which took Farrell's to another seven stores, but those had all closed by 2019. Today, it's just another chain Boomers miss visiting. 

Swift & Company is best-known for its meatpacking legacy, but the Chicago juggernaut dabbled in many different markets, including eggs, cheese, mayonnaise, and, you guessed it, ice cream. In fact, in the 1960s, Swift's Ice Cream was pretty popular. The brand sold everything from ice cream sandwiches to tubs filled with fun flavors, like Bewitchin' Banana-Cherry-Nut, Party Peach (with real peach pieces), and Pink Lemonade Sherbert.

Swift's wasn't just a store-bought brand; it even had its own ice cream parlors, too. "My mom took us to Swifts after getting shots at the Health Dept," recalled one Facebook user. "Sat at the counter and the traditional 'soda jerks' served us."According to some, you could even sample Swift's ice cream at non-Swift's branded parlors, although you probably wouldn't know it. "I worked at an ice cream shop and we used Swifts," wrote one user in the r/retromenus subreddit. "It was a big secret because they did not want any competition. Seriously good ice cream."

Despite how popular Swift's Ice Cream once was, there isn't a whole lot of information about the brand out there, or what happened to it. That said, we do know that Swift & Company changed hands many times over the course of the 20th century, so it's likely that the ice cream line was discontinued after one of these acquisitions. In 2007, Swift & Co's meat division was bought by JBS and became JBS USA.

In the 1920s, the Borden Company (initially founded as a condensed milk company back in the late 1800s) expanded into ice cream, and it proved to be a pretty smart move. In fact, despite the fact that the company had its fingers in many pies (including cheese and adhesives), ice cream was one of its most successful ventures.

By the 1960s, Borden's was an established and popular brand in the ice cream world, and many who grew up in this era have fond memories of indulging in its signature flavors like cherry vanilla, strawberries 'n cream, and buttered nut, which were sold in half-gallon boxes. "It was so good," said one Reddit user in the r/vintageads subreddit, reflecting on the cherry vanilla flavor. "My grandma always stocked up when we visited!"

Alternatively, for a real treat, some would head to a Borden's Ice Cream Parlor. "I have fond memories of going to get ice cream at Borden's Ice Cream Parlor on Staples Street in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the early 1960's," said one Facebook user. "I can taste it now!" By the end of the 20th century, Borden's had been through many acquisitions and exited the ice cream business. But, if you're feeling nostalgic, good news: There is one remaining Borden's Ice Cream Parlor, in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Carnation is best known for evaporated milk, which makes sense, because that was its very first product back in the late 1800s. But over the 20th century, the brand also expanded into different areas of the dairy market, including fresh milk and ice cream. It even branched out into ice cream parlors and had its own highly coveted spot in Disneyland (which sold ice cream named after some of the park's most iconic rides).

Outside of Disneyland, though, families could still visit Carnation's Ice Cream parlors. It had locations in several states, and many remember heading to their local Carnation in the 1950s and 1960s for a sweet treat. "I played in Southern Little League in the early 1960's," recalled one Facebook user in a Lubbock Facebook group. "If our team won a big game we got to go there for ice cream after the game. If you hit a home run, you got a banana split!"

And if you weren't lucky enough to live near a Carnation Ice Cream parlor, you could always grab a pint from the store. Throughout the 1960s, the brand sold flavors like Banana Berry and Polka Dot Cherry in half-gallon tubs. Sadly for fans, the Carnation line of ice cream was phased out after Nestle bought the company in the 1990s.