I worked at Isaly’s in Jeannette when I was a senior in High School. The hardest job was learning how to scoop the sky scraper ice cream and place it on top of the cone so it did not fall of. My favorite meal was a chipped ham and Swiss cheese sandwich with a strawberry shake. On my last day of work before leaving for college, I cut off the tip of my finger on the slicer. (:
Is this a real scene, and if so, where was it? I have been unable to find the identity of the original artist. I’m wondering if this is a real scene, or if it was created by the artist as a typical Christmas city-scape.
I grew up in Mansfield, Ohio where we had a couple of Isaly’s stores. In the 60’s we had a store on W. 4th St. and a store and cheese making plant on Franklin Ave. My dad’s favorite past time was going for rides in the car and stopping to get ice cream. We spent a lot of time at Isaly’s, and I have some wonderful family past time memories and of the best ice cream and milk shakes in town. I also remember a field trip our East Mansfield Elementary School class took to Isaly’s to see how cheese was made. These memories are priceless and whenever I see old glassware (milk jugs) from long ago, I always check for the name “Isaly’s” on it.
In the 1930s, when I was a little girl, we lived on Storer Avenue, near Copley Road, where there was an Isaly’s. Of course we all (I had 3 brothers) loved the skyscraper cone, but there was an additional lure! On our birthdays, our Mother would go to Isaly’s and buy COLORED BREAD. She made sandwiches of blue, green, and pink bread for our birthday parties! How cool was that?
I am too young, but I remember my parents talk about it as if it was the greatest ice cream ever. My old man would talk about the store on the corner of Hazelwood and Mahoning on the Westside, Skyscapers, chip-chop ham, barbecue sauce, and donuts were always being referenced and brought up when talking local eateries I was a kid. Never without: “When I was your age…” coming first in the conversation.
Growing up I ate at Isaly’s many times. My mother worked very close and my sister and I went to school just a block away. At least once a week we got to meet her for lunch. At 16 I got what I consider the world’s best job there. I was a stock boy and I cleaned up. Mostly it was evenings and an occasional Saturday or Sunday during the day. What made it so great was #1……I worked with 8 of the prettiest girls I went to school with. #2…..At 7 PM we cleaned up the cafeteria and took all the food to the kitchen to be put away in the cooler for the night and to clean the pans and containers. We always made a big plate for ourselves for our break. #3 Just before 10 (Closing time) one of the girls would make milkshakes or sundae’s for when we left. #4 Mr. Cunningham the owner was one of the nicest employers I ever had. If I had to work a Saturday or Sunday it was rough at times, especially if the Chipped or Baked ham was on sale. Thinking back it may of been 50 cents a lb. Well I’d operate the slicer for what seemed eternity chipping ham. My right arm would be numb before noon. The baked ham had to be sliced when the customer ordered it since no two ever wanted the same thickness. I now live in south Fla and I wonder what TSA thinks every time I come back from Pittsburgh since I generally have 1/2 a dozen jars of BBQ sauce and a cooler with chipped ham. Yes I can get a close copy of the chipped chopped ham here but it’s not the exact same. PLUS explain to someone at a deli the thickness of CHIPPED as they don’t quite grasp the concept. I am really surprised that no one has opted to franchise Isaly’s out as it would be a good addition to all the food establishment options we have today.
I remember your grandfather..tall fella..My Grandmother Ruth Whalen worked in the bakery I think 1 day a week. My mother took me and my 5 brothers and sisters in for a coke after shopping! My mother was Patricia Whalen from North Irwin…found memories!
I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio with fond memories of the big Isaly’s Dairy Plant on Mahoning Ave. My Dad’s favorite flavor of ice cream was “White House” ~ creamy vanilla ice cream loaded with maraschino cherries ! My family loved ‘chipped chopped ham’ sandwiches ! I live in Sarasota, FL now and no one at any deli counter knows what that is !! It got its name from how they used to shave and cross cut the ham in a certain way. It’s chipped, then chopped. Yum ! Great memories !!
The Isaly’s I went to was on Brownsville Road in Mt. Oliver Borough of Pittsburgh. Two school friends worked there. I loved Rainbow ice cream, the taste and the pink, cream, and green of it. Just this morning I read a funny column in THE WASHINGTON POST about “when exactly it all went wrong” and I knew the answer. Gold star. I have been saying for years now that it “all went wrong when they closed Isaly’s.” This reason covers a lot of disappointing territory. In short order, it seems, they closed my high school, my grade school, my church. That did a good job of obliterating my childhood, but it started with Isaly’s closing. I was no longer living in Pittsburgh and hadn’t been for years when it happened. Just this New Year’s Day, 2016, my son, whose childhood memory at his grandmother’s house also includes chipped chopped ham lunches, arrived here in Vienna, VA, bringing chipped chopped ham from a local supermarket. I was also delighted to see a tribute by the mystery writer, Martha Graham. She wrote a funny book about the publishing industry in 2004 titled FOUL MATTER in which a young man named Isaly visits Pittsburgh and the store. Pistachio is the flavor named specifically, if I remember correctly. My husband from Texas also remembers the Big Isaly in Oakland.
I grew up in Elizabeth Pa. back in the 1960’s. When we wanted to go to town, we got on the bus and went to McKeesport. The best part of the trip was lunch at Isalys. Sometimes it was chipped ham BBQ, sometimes it was ham salad. Chocolate milk and a Klondike Bar were usually included. On occasion, Mom would buy me one of those boxes of animal crackers that looked like a bus. I would play with that box for a long time after the crackers were gone ! I moved to Virginia in the early 80’s. Sadly, there are no Isalys here. But I do order the BBQ sauce online. If only I could get some of that wonderful ham to go with it.
