Colby FFAAlumni and Supporters introduce new Ice Cream Barn

Ice cream, ice cream, come get your ice cream! If you were looking for the Red Ice Cream Barn at the Athens Fair this past summer, you might have walked right past it. For the past 17 years, the Colby FFA Alumni and Supporters have rented the Mauel’s Ice Cream truck, and this past summer, they decided to purchase their very own trailer. For many months, the organization looked for their own trailer that would fit their needs and their price range.

“Many trailers were not tall enough, so most of our members, like myself, would have to crouch down while scooping ice cream and others weren’t large enough to fit ice cream freezers and members to serve our customers,” Liz Tesch, president of the Colby FFA Alumni and Supporters said.

The organization decided to purchase a 20 foot enclosed trailer that was partially furnished to fit their needs and construct their own ice cream trailer. Loos Machine and Automation stepped up to the challenge, donating their time and materials to fabricate a serving window into the trailer.

Bob’s Dairy Supply also showed their support by donating and installing an on-demand, electric hot water heater in the trailer. Both of these large donations allowed the new trailer to pass the food service inspection by the county health department and allowed the organization to serve ice cream out of it this past summer. Both of these upgrades were also completed by past students of the agriculture program and FFA organization.

In 2006, the Holton 4-H club handed the ice cream barn fundraiser over to the Colby FFA. David and Sandy Lueddecke had children in both organizations and decided to help bridge the gap. They had been helping the 4-H organize the ice cream barn since 1997 and had a wealth of knowledge to pass along.

The Lueddecke’s knew what an amazing fundraiser this would be for the FFA organization and with their leadership, the organization has had 18 years of successful ice cream sales. At this time, they have no children in the FFA program, but will have many grandchildren coming up in the future.

David said, “We know all the money raised goes to help kids attend leadership conferences, speaking events and pay for other activities in the club. We just want to encourage having fun and learning about the wide variety of experiences in the National FFA Organization.”

Throughout the Athens World’s Fair, many families of the Colby FFA and Colby FFA Alumni and Supporters take shifts running the Ice Cream Barn. The Lueddecke family themselves have a long standing tradition of covering the Saturday night shift of the fair where they make their time in the ice cream barn a family affair.

The Alumni hopes to continue selling ice cream for many years at the Athens World’s Fair and looks forward to opportunities of expanding their Ice Cream Barn into other fairs, such as Colby Cheese Days.

“The new trailer will be able to be used at the Colby Dairy Breakfast, Food for America and other FFA and Alumni events,” said Taylor Ensign, committee chair for the ice cream barn project.

There are still a few projects the organization wishes to complete on the trailer and the organization will be looking for local businesses to help with those in the future.

NEW TRAILER UNDER CONSTRUCTION - Shown is a picture of the new Colby FFA Alumni and Supporters Ice Cream Barn trailer while it was being fitted for serving ice cream. The trailer is now in full operation and went on its maiden voyage over the summer at the Athens Fair.