Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

In regard to the Polarstik. Mr. Guy Farmer owned
the Candy Kitchen on Main Street. a candy and ice
cream store. The candy (chocolates) was made there.
The son. Cecil Farmer. also learned the candy-making
trade.
An ice cream sandwich was a very popular item. It
was made of two cookies. like the Nabisco wafer. with a
filling of ice cream. These were wrapped and put in the
ice cream case. One day. seeing the large pots of
chocolate sitting in the kitchen. someone got the idea to
dip an ice cream sandwich coated with chocolate.
Through trial and error they concluded that it would be
easier to dip if a stick was inserted into the ice cream.
Hence. the ice cream on a stick became a reality. This
confection might have been made in other parts of the
country. but it was a first in this area.
This became a very popular-selling treat and very
reasonable. as most ice cream novelties cost more. Mr.
Farmer realized he had a very marketable product. He
R. D. Finnigan
Mayor and Inventor
submitted by Wilma Finnigan Petersen and
Joyce Finnigan Hoyman (daughters of R.D. Finnigan)
Ren Finnigan. I 926
Above photo shows Ren Finnigan. chairman of the
Jones County Salvage Committee during World War
ll. During the three years he served. he gathered over
3.600 tons of old iron. besides all the paper. rubber
and rags. (Photo submitted by his daughter)
came to Ren Finnigan for advice and found a receptive
listener. Mr. Finnigan became financially and
personally involved in the product. and a partnership
was formed.
The product became so popular that it outgrew the
Candy Kitchen. and it was arranged to be produced
through the Anamosa Farmers Creamery. This also
brought changes to the confectionary. The wafers were
eliminated and the ice cream bars were dipped directly
into the chocolate and a new name was given — the
POLARSTICK.
Ren Finnigan's part in this project was
promotion.(the Farmer family created the Polarstick).
He hired some young men to take the Polarstick to “Big
Days" and state fairs. They had posters printed and
used a local boy. Barney Bunce. an adorable youngster.
with a Polarstick.
Wilma worked at the Candy Kitchen and recalls
helping out. especially when they would get large
orders from the Men's Reformatory. Names were not
used. only numbers. with each inmate's order
packaged separately. The orders were then passed
around to other merchants in town. This was done on a
monthly basis.
R.D. Finnigan served as mayor of Anamosa from
1925 to I927. During his administration. $5.000 in
back-payment water rents were collected and this was
used to clean the city well. The well was 1.700 feet deep
and was fllled to the I .300 foot mark with rock and dirt.
The city council at that time was composed of Miller
Crispin. William Strawman. Clark Joslin. Herbert Gee.
Dr. E.R. Erb and Albert Clark. Others in the city
administration were: Daisy Stevens. city clerk: George
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