Auburn ice cream shops, part 3

Believe it or not, a used car dealer is now at the corner of South Street and Route 20 where a neighborhood ice cream place once stood. According to a long-time resident of the area, it was called Dairy Queen, but the then-owner lost the franchise, and Bernhard Meyers took it over and changed the name to “Dairy King.”

Meyers was born in Dortmund, Germany, and came to the United States in 1959, acquired the property and ran the business. He received his U.S. citizenship in 1965. He was a member of the First Congregational Church and the Kiwanis Club. He also held a position on the Auburn Board of Health in 1985, filling a one-year term. He was married to Frieda K. Lehmann for 40 years until his death at the age of 70 in September 1994. They had two sons who were both in the Air Force.

The Dairy King eventually became the Auburn Sandwich Shop and was a favorite eatery of the area. It remained some type of restaurant, with the exception when it was Joseph’s Produce, until recently when a car dealership occupied the lot.

Many a child enjoyed stopping on the north side of Washington Street at 87 South Street to enjoy a cone of their favorite flavor of ice cream. Included in some of the responses to the favorite ice cream places survey were Pam who thought that the Dairy King “sank you,” and Coby remembers it as Meyers Dairy Queen. 

This was a very busy intersection. Across from the Dairy King was a filling station owned by the Kann family. Miland D. Kann ran the filling station at 499 Washington Street and lived at 495 Washington. His mother Mabel owned a store at 947 Washington Street as well as a home at 58 Stone Street. Her other son Arthur ran the Grafton Filling Station and had his home at 54 Stone Street.

Miland was born in 1916 and was only three when his father died; Mabel eventually oversaw the businesses. Miland graduated from Mary D. Stone School in June 1931. He served in the Army in WWII in Europe and obtained the rank of Tech 5. Miland married Dorothy in November 1941. They had twin daughters, Dorothy and Donna. Miland worked as a civil engineer for the Worcester Department of Public Works for 23 years, retiring in 1981. The family were members of the First Congregational Church of Auburn.

It was said by some that he started the Dairy Haus to keep his grandchildren busy, especially in the summer while he was working at the filling station. The Dairy Haus served hard and soft ice cream. Those who remember Dairy Haus as being their favorite place for ice cream are Michelle, Lynn, Steve, Katelyn and Clarissa who liked their soft serve. Other favorites were Kay’s King Spa or Fitzi’s for novelty ice creams. 

 On the other side of town, the Montrose Dairy was at 624 Southbridge Street. There was a duck pond in the back and a sand pit that was a popular hangout for hot rodders Thursday through Saturday. John F. Bassios was the owner and operator of Montrose for 10 years from the mid-1940s to mid-1950s. Bassios had an extensive background in the hospitality business.

Montrose was more than just an ice cream stand. On July 11, 1931, the Naval Reserve Band gave a concert there. The members of the Outdoor Group of the Woman’s Club enjoyed tea at the Montrose after a January hike, the town Democrats had meetings there, and Montrose donated ice cream to a local flower show.

In 1957 there was an application to the Auburn Selectmen from Montrose of Auburn Inc. for a change in management with Robert LaBaire of Arrowhead Avenue succeeding Bassios.

In 1961 the Montrose Dairy was demolished to make way for the construction of the Yankee Drummer Inn and Motor House, which opened in May 1961. The restaurant was run by Tamburi Company who owned the Yankee Pedlar Inn in Holyoke. The hotel part was run by the Auburn Motor Inn Inc., whose spokesperson and builder of the hotel was Alex Pappas.

This was the fifth restaurant in New England that was owned by the Early American Inns Co. The Auburn Motor Inn Inc. officers were Dr. Gordon C. Milne, president, William J. Barlow, vice president, Alex Pappas and Helen J. Boria clerks. Directors included George H. Campbell, Geno Camosse, Hector E. Bariere, Michael Pappas, and Athena Pappas. The inn is only a memory as is Montrose Dairy but thought of ice cream being served there still brings smiles to many faces. 

This article is the third in the “Ice Cream Shops of Auburn” series and was made possible by the Auburn Historical Society & Museum, 41 South Street. The museum is open Tuesday and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30p.m. Call 508-832-6856 or email [email protected], visit them at auburnhistoricalmuseum.org or follow them on Facebook at Auburn Historical.

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. W

Helen Poirier is a director at the Auburn Historical Society & Museum.