Old-time soda fountain alive and well in Arapahoe

ARAPAHOE -- Kayla Chambers celebrated her graduation from high school with a "black and black," her variation of the most popular ice cream treat served at the soda fountain tucked into a corner of the Arapahoe Pharmacy.

Kayla stopped by the soda fountain Wednesday, her last full day of school at Arapahoe High School. "Oh, I have to celebrate," she said with a contented smile as she spooned up a wonderful, ooey-gooey concoction of chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup, marshmallow cream and whipped cream -- served in a tall, fluted real-glass glass and topped with a bright-red maraschino cherry.

Kayla's treat is her version of a "black and white," layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream served at the soda fountain that is billed as the "last original soda fountain and pharmacy in Nebraska." Owner and pharmacist John Tangeman says the fountain and pharmacy have been under the same family's ownership and management for 75 years now.

"There's always been a soda fountain in the pharmacy," John said, explaining that the block-long "Clute Hotel" was the original occupant of the downtown property. "The Clute was said to be the largest and grandest hotel between Lincoln and Denver," John said. "It could seat 500 people at the dining room tables."

The hotel burned in 1898, and the land transferred to Joseph Einstein, who built a mercantile and second-floor opera house on the south end of the block, and to William Helmann, who built the structures that would become today's Crystal Theater and Arapahoe Pharmacy.

John said it's believed that Helmann built his structures as an investment with his brother, who was a carpenter. The north half of the Helmann building was leased to pharmacist R.H. "Horace" Bellamy.

Bellamy stayed from 1899 until 1911, and successive pharmacists were Frederick Franklin Ware, Ben Newrock and O.A. Dick. In 1935, Floyd Morris, John's father-in-law, purchased the inventory and fixtures for $4,200. All of these pharmacists rented the building from Helmann or his descendants until 1944, when Floyd Morris purchased the building from Lulu Quivey, Helmann's daughter, for $1,700.

John and Ingrid purchased the pharmacy from Ingrid's father 25 years ago. "It's been family-owned for 75 years now," John said.

The soda fountain was originally located in the front of the store, its counter topped with an impressive slab of marble. After World War II, as the drug store became more profitable, John said, his father-in-law moved the soda fountain to the back of the store, and the Horton brothers cut and fit a "modern" swirley-gray-and-white laminate countertop around the original, relocated coolers.

It's a shame that the original marble slab was replaced, John said, running his hand over the now well-used countertop.

Customers, however, don't care how indistinct the countertop may be -- it's the "black and whites" and "green river phosphates" and "cherry Cokes" that they come for.

"Green rivers were drinks popular in the late 1940's and early '50's," John said. "It's a sweet lime phosphate ... a carbonated green 'kool-ade'."

Some suppliers no longer carry a green river syrup, John said, but they've found one in a Chicago suburb. "It's pricey, but we do have a following," he said.

"Personally, I've never understood the appeal of a chocolate Coke," John said, "but there are people who want them."

The fountain's soda jerks serve the ice cream treats and drinks in real-glass glasses, some original to the soda fountain. Newer ones were pleasant surprises that John and Ingrid discovered in a store -- on sale, even. "They're not easy to find. It's an accident if you do," John said.

"The glass adds to the ambiance," John said. "They just don't look the same in paper."

John said they'll make the treats and drinks "to go," but he's saddened that people often don't have the time or take the time to enjoy the goodies as they were meant to be.

At one time, as girls became involved in athletics after school in the mid- to late 1970's and were less frequent visitors at the soda fountain, John said, Floyd discontinued ice cream treats. However, John and Ingrid reintroduced ice cream and sodas during one hot summer recently, and they've become popular enough to keep.

The soda fountain stays open year-round, John said, unlike many in the United States that are open only during the summer. John said the shop has visitors and vacationers who make a special point to stop by the soda fountain when they're in Arapahoe.

Soda fountains are gems that have disappeared with time, modernization, business owners' focus on profitability and "progress."

Although there are several soda fountains scattered across Nebraska, the soda fountain in Arapahoe is believed to be the last one affiliated with a pharmacy, "as they all used to be," John said.

Take a step back in time. Candies from the past -- Necco wafers, Slowpokes, Sugar Daddies, Pixy Stix -- line the shelves. The yellow-and-green rose wallpaper, the tin ceiling, the hardwood floor, are all original to the 110-year-old building.

Take the time ... make the time ... sit at the counter, swirl on a stool. Visit with the neighbors. The cherry Coke's well-worth it.