STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Facebook group called Dog Patch is made up of people who grew up in Meiers Corners, mostly in the 1970s, who got their name from Al Capp’s cartoon character, L’il Abner, whose fictional setting was the “Dogpatch.”
Meiers Corners has also affectionately been referred to as Dogpatch by long-time residents.
Pamela Piccarelli-Silano, the Facebook page manager, reached out to Marie Wausnock and asked if she was Johnny the Ice Cream Man’s daughter. Marie responded, “Yes, I am Johnny’s daughter.” And she wondered who Piccarelli-Silano was and how she’d found her.
It all started about 50 years ago. John Wausnock, Marie’s father and a native Staten Islander, worked nights for the City of New York as a corrections officer, but he was “Johnny the Ice Cream Man” during the day. Marie Wausnock worked with her dad on the ice cream truck after school from the time she was 10 until she was about 17 years old. “When we returned home, my mom had dinner waiting for us. I would then count all the coins we collected that day, help reload the ice cream truck for the next day, and do my homework,’’ she said. John Wausnock passed away in 2004.
The Dog Patch group members started sharing fond memories of their beloved ice cream man, Johnny. The group had a Facebook page dedicated to Marie’s dad. This was all very emotional for the Wausnock family to hear, after all these years.
Marie then posted added family pictures of herself and her father to the Dog Patch Facebook page, and received many tales of memories of her father. Here, she shares some of them:
- “We would hear those bells and run and ask my Mom for a quarter, but she gave me two quarters because she wanted a strawberry shortcake.”
- “Your dad would leave a vanilla dixie for my dog, even when I was away on vacation.”
- “I never won the free ice cream because the boys were so tough.”
- “Once we heard the bells, we would get on our bikes and see how far off Johnny was before he got to our block.”
- “I’m so glad you posted pictures, as I told my kids about ‘Johnny the Ice Cream man’ all my life.”
Her father made up many free giveaway games to engage the kids so they would look forward to the ice cream truck each day.
Many of the games included a free piece of Bazooka bubble gum.
A reunion was held on Sept. 16, 2023, at the Manor House. The Wausnock family was very honored to attend, Marie Wausnock said. The Dog Patch group had Bazooka gum scattered on all the tables, presented the family with a plaque of appreciation, and made them honorary members of the Dog Patch group.
It was so special that 50 years later, her dad, “Johnny the Ice Cream Man,” was still remembered, Marie Wausnock said. In appreciation, the family had t-shirts made with a picture of the ice cream truck on them for all in attendance.
“It is wonderful to see how one man touched so many people’s lives and was a big part of their childhood memories,” said Marie Wausnock.
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