Popsicles are a confection made of fruit juice frozen on a stick. In the 1870s the Ross and Robbins company sold something similar, which they called the Hokey-Pokey. In 1924, Frank Epperson, a powdered lemonade vendor from California, patented a more fully realized version of the product, which he originally named the Epsicle. He sold his patent to the Joe Lowe Corporation, which became Popsicle Industries. The chief Popsicle flavors were grape, orange, and cherry. Later variations of the product included the Creamsicle, the Fudgsicle, the Twin Pop, and the Bomb Pop, and helped keep neighborhood ice cream trucks like Skippy and Good Humor in business during the summer. What made the Popsicle line distinctive was the inclusion of the flat wooden stick, allowing the frozen confections to be eaten like lollipops. People saved these sticks and used them for craft projects, making everything from baskets and boxes to lamp bases out of them.

Several popsicles resting on a napkin.

Further Reading:

Dickson, Paul. The Great American Ice Cream Book. New York, Atheneum, 1972.