Glennie’s Ice Cream employee outing

October 12, 2010 by DickH Posted in History, Lowell 4 Comments

Growing up, at least once a week in the summertime my family would load up the station wagon, pickup my grandmother, and cross the School Street Bridge to the north side of the Merrimack River so we could enjoy some Glennie’s Ice Cream (now the site of Heritage Ice Cream on the Pawtucket Boulevard). Tonight I received the above photograph. It’s the Glennie’s Ice Cream employee outing in the summer of 1948. Can anyone help identify the folks in this picture?

4 Responses to Glennie’s Ice Cream employee outing

  1. John Quealey says:

    As a Grove Boy we walked to Glennies on Rogers St. on the right side just past Douglas Rd.on Sundays we went on the bus to the Municiplal Bathhouse to swim in the river across from Glennies on the Bouvelard.The park at the cornor of Gorham and Appelton Sts.was the location of Glennies Belgium Creams another Glennies was in New Hampshire although I never visited.My friend since first grade Ed Stack R.I.P. was a “soda jerk” at Glennies.Nothing like a Glennies chocolate ice cream soda.

  2. Gary Francis says:

    A little background info. This photo was sent to me by John Glennie Jr who visited me at Gary’s Ice Cream earlier this fall. He has also sent some other great photos. Bill McCloughry is on the far left top row of the picture. He is the man who made the Belgian Butter Creams and made all the syrups and hot fudge for the Glennie’s shops. John A Glennie himself is at the other end of the top row. This picture was taken on the 4th of July. That is the one day of the year that all the Glennie’s shops would close for the annual employee outing. Employees from the Pawtucket Blvd, Rogers Street and Pelham, NH stands along with the ladies from The Belgian Candy Shop (now the parking lot next to Towers News) would all gather at the blvd location (that is where this picture was taken) and board a bus for the outing. Unfortunately when I joined the Glennie’s crew in 1968 only the blvd stand was still open and the outings were a thing of a past.

  3. Diane Baker says:

    I lived in Pawtucketville and we used to go to swimming in the river across from Glennie’s . My favorite was pistachio ice cream. What a treat! Moved away from Lowell in 1959.

  4. John Glennie says:

    Thank you for your kind comments about the family business, Glennie’s Ice Cream. At the time the photo above was taken, I was too young to work in the business, but remember most of the boys by face, if not by name. One exception is Roland DiCelle(SP?), standing to the left n front of Dad. Roland worked at Glennie’s for many years, and worked as the ice cream maker as well as in the front shop. The women in front would have all worked the fountain and candy sales at the Belgian Butter Cream store, corner of Gorham and Appleton streets. I have lived away from Lowell since the mid 1960’s, but still run into folks who remember Glennie’s Ice Cream.