When you think of a carousel, watching or riding wooden horses that bounce up and down might come to mind. But in Auburn’s history, the word carousel also means ice cream and good food.

The Carousel Dairy Bar was a popular place in town to get some delicious ice cream. It was located at 750 Oxford Street at the corner of Washington Street. It was originally owned by Michael Deliso and his wife, Frances, who bought land in Auburn in 1949. They originally had a house and garage, but by 1951 a store was listed on the property. In 1956 there was a restaurant located on Washington Street next to their house, but no garage was listed on the property tax rolls. The Delisos lived in a house next door to the Carousel Dairy Bar until they sold the house and it was moved to Goulding Drive.

In 1957 a boat store appeared along with the restaurant, so you could buy a boat then celebrate the purchase with an ice cream cone. The 1961 tax records show that the Delisos bought a house on Bryn Mawr Avenue and still owned the restaurant but no store. The restaurant finally disappeared in 1966 when Interstate 290 was built in Auburn. The location is where the ramps are, off Route 20.

The Carousel touted the best in ice cream, fountain service of ice cream sodas, jumbo frankfurters and hamburgers, sandwiches, fried clams and French fries. A long-time resident remembers it was also a school bus stop. Some Auburnites who worked at the Carousel Dairy Bar included George Lamb, Betty Gaines, and George and Louise Jewell Sr. in the early 1950s. In the mid-50s he said it was run by a very large man called “Tiny.” 

There was another unique place to get ice cream that eventually wound up in a museum. According to a 1999 article, it was manufactured by the Worcester Lunch Car Company in about 1940 and was in operation in Medford for ten years. It was then moved to Worcester where it could be found at the corner of Commercial and Foster streets. When the Centrum (now the DCU Center) was being constructed, the diner was moved to a salvage yard. That’s where John P. Tighe bought the Sherwood’s Diner in the 1970s for a whopping $500. He renamed it the Dairy Doll, and it was placed between Colony Package Store and Cantwell Hardware Store. Tighe said he bought it because he was a bricklayer and ate many meals in diners so owning one brought back fond memories. The diner served hamburgers and other diner fare. The Dairy Doll was donated to The American Diner Museum of Providence in 1999 by Tighe. It cost more to move it to Rhode Island than it cost for him to buy it. 

The 1948 Auburn High School yearbook had an ad that said Harlow’s Dairy Bar at Drury Square was the place to sit down with books and French fries. A person could get a 5-cent vanilla Coke to go with the ice cream and fries. This place was owned and run by Leslie Harlow and his wife Clarice. Leslie spent most of his early life working with candy and snacks. The 1900 census has him as a wrapper in a popcorn factory at the age of 18. His World War I draft card stated he was employed at the Harlow Quality Kiss Company, 269 Main Street in Worcester and so it was stated in the 1920-1950 census.

He married Clarise Farwell in 1906 and she was by his side helping at Harlow’s and carried on after he died in 1963. There were many name changes through the years with the last one being the Peacock Club. It was eventually owned by Mark Sarkisian and provided many years of entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays, so say the many ads. This aspect of the Peacock Club will be explored at a later date. 

If you have any stories about these or other places in Auburn that had ice cream when you were younger, the Auburn Historical Society and Museum would enjoy having them to put in its Holstrom Archives. Email: [email protected] or call 508-832-6856. Learn more at .auburnhistoricalmuseum.org or follow them on Facebook at Auburn Historical.            

This article is the second in the “Ice Cream Shops of Auburn” series. Helen Poirier is a director at the Auburn Historical Society & Museum, 41 South Street. The museum is open Tuesday and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to12:30 p.m.