Hoodsie Cups | The Classic New England Ice Cream Treat
Can’t decide between chocolate and vanilla? With Hoodsie Cups — a favorite New England ice cream treat — you don’t have to choose.
By Aimee Tucker|Jul 08 2021|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan
Here in New England, Hoodsie Cups have been the saving grace of those who can’t decide between chocolate or vanilla ice cream since 1947. The 3 oz. paper cup neatly (well, nearly) divided in half by the two flavors is a product of the Massachusetts-based Hood dairy, and is one of the regional treats many New Englanders claim to miss the most after moving away, perhaps because they’re a lot harder to pack into a suitcase than a roll of Necco Wafers or six-pack of Moxie.
It might also be that, for many of us, Hoodsie Cups (or just plain “Hoodsies”) are a tastebud-reminder of childhood, when the cups were often handed out at birthday and classroom parties, summer cookouts, and church suppers. We remember pulling up on the little tab that peeled back the paper lid to reveal the ice cream below, and gleefully digging in with the accompanying wooden spoon, which was really just the shortened, hourglass-shaped equivalent of a tongue depressor.
Like the aforementioned Necco Wafers and Moxie, if you grew up with Hoodsies, you probably hang onto an ardent fondness for the little cups, but unlike Necco Wafers and Moxie, Hoodsies aren’t an acquired taste. In New England, where ice cream is king, the Hoodsie remains a popular treat more than 70 years after their introduction. In fact, since Hood is the official ice cream brand of the Boston Red Sox, you can even show your Sox pride while enjoying a Hoodsie. We call that a win/win.
Today Hoodsie cups are sold in bags of 10. Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
Today, Hoodsie Cups are sold at grocery stores in bags of 10. Since my memory of eating Hoodsies is so firmly coupled with the wooden spoon I thought there would be a stash of them in the bottom of the bag, but there wasn’t so I made do with a regular spoon, which didn’t feel right. Perhaps the wooden spoons are relegated to the convenience store ice cream freezer or ice cream truck?
But where’s the wooden spoon? Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Wooden spoon or not, the Hoodsie Cup remains a clear New England favorite. I was reminded of this a few years ago when my family got together to celebrate the 97th birthday of my great-great Uncle Jim, and when it was time for dessert, my grandmother leaned over to me and gestured toward the table, which was laden with cakes, cookies, gelatin salads, and yes…the familiar red and white cups. “Go get something for dessert,” she urged, “and can you bring me back a Hoodsie?”
Hoodsie Cups – a New England ice cream favorite since 1947. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
I brought back two.
Are you a fan of Hoodsies?
This post was first published in 2014 and has been updated.
Loved them and usually it was vanilla first then chocolate but sometimes a little of each. Did they ever make strawberry ? The Necco wafers ( loved the chocolate ) and Moxie were loved as well.
I am almost 82 and remember the Hoodsies ice cream as Neapolitan, as it was called then: chocolate, strawberry in the middle, and then vanilla. Since no one has mentioned strawberry, do I misremember? Also, for sure, the cups were cylindrical, taller, not squat as they appear today, and they were white with big round red dots scattered around them. And of course, they had the movie star lids!
I have to disagree with the assertion that “Hoodsies” were introduced in 1947. I grew up in Dorchester, Mass. in the thirties, and forties, and one of the traditions on the fourth of July was to go to Garvey Park on Neponset Avenue, and receive “Hoodsies”. I know we did this in the late thirties, and early forties. I remember “Hoodsies” fondly, and wish you could buy them in Dallas. Incidently we had Hood milk etc. delivered as long as I can remember.
My wife, and I never miss going to Friendly’s, whenever we see one in our travels. We miss Howard
Johnsons since I was brought up on their ice cream.
As far as coffee ice cream you cannot beat Blue Bell coffee ice cream. However it is sold mainly in Texas, and Oklahoma.
Enjoyed the article.
Warren and Berniece Rand
Hoodsies……yukk, even as a kid ( and I am 79 now) Hoodsies were garbage ice cream, chalkie and pretty tasteless and we lived just outside Boston so they were fresh. Maybe Hoodsies had to be aged to taste good but I doubt it.
Hoodsies, Necco Wafers, and Moxie: Those products brought back good childhood memories. Living in the Arizona desert now, I miss them. I do order Moxie on line. Thanks for the memories
Love this comment ! I was raised in Roxbury but move to Dorchester in the mid to late sixties. Love Hoodsies and miss Howard Johnson’s. Live in Las Vegas now.
We had a similar dessert here in the South. The spoons were in a little box on the ice cream cooler. Now they are sold 10 in a bag and the little spoon is attached to the lid. They are still a nostalgic treat,even though the ice cream doesn’t taste any different.
Warren and Berniece are right on target. I am 81 and grew up in Dorchester MA. Hoodsies were around in the thirties. The Hood Milk Company used to deliver milk in horse drawn wagons until a fire in the barn killed the horses. I think around 1943
Hi Jerry. Thanks for your comment! I got the date of 1947 directly from the Hood website (http://www.hood.com/products/hoodsie-cups/). They say “With chocolate-flavored ice cream on one side and vanilla on the other, these 3-ounce single serve cups have been motivating kids to clean their plates since 1947.” Perhaps Hood made a similar ice cream treat before the Hoodsie? Or perhaps they have the date wrong? I’ll work on solving the mystery!
Another nice article, Aimee. Though I grew up in the Midwest and was thereby deprived of the joys of a Hoodsie, we had our equivalent from some other dairy company. What I liked most is your comment about the flat, wooden spoon. You’re absolutely right–it doesn’t taste the same without that little “canoe paddle” acting as the vessel from cup to mouth!
The most important fact about Hoodsies was left out!! The lid’s backside was a black and white picture of a movie star, with a circle of waxed paper over it. We traded these pictures, and always hoped for one we had not yet gotten!!
Loved these as a kid. I grew up Lowell and Nashua – we always had a bag of Hoodsies in the freezer. I live in Atlanta now and I found these at BJ’s!! I may have to get a bag today!!
I recall Hoodsies, as do many others, from my childhood, and still have a lid with Maureen O’Hara’s photo on it. These movie star photos were placed on the inside of the lids in the 40’s. The Hoodsie Cup has changed, however, over the years, with the bottom being recessed and the top also pressed down. We can accept that, in the light of corporate concerns for the bottom line, but recently I have purchased the product which, I suppose, due to poor quality control, is ‘missing’ some ice cream. The poured product is caved in on one side or the other, and in some more recent purchases, the dome of ice cream is without anything around the edges. The price remains the same, but the quantity of ice cream has diminished, in these instances. Is this merely an error or oversight, or is this the standard practice we face in the future? I hope the reputation of Hoodsies will not be tarnished by inept or careless quality control….”Where’s the ice cream?”
Wow, finally someone noticed voids ( less quantity in 3 oz cups ) in the Hoodsie cups. Been buying them for quite a long time at local supermarkets in Merrimac Valley Mass. Something needs to be done about their quality control. Cups are labeled HP Hood LLC Lynnfield mass.
Grew up in East Boston in the 40’s and 50’s and remember sitting on curbs with my friends eating Hoodsies and getting free Hoodsies at the Gem a local movie house on the 4th of July!!!
Yum!
Kudos to Y’all who are showing off that your memories are still intact, e.g. Yes! the movie star pics under the lid! In Lowell in the ’50s, we called dances in stinky gyms, record hops. Earlier they were reportedly know as Hoodsies…I don’t know why…maybe they served Hoodsies? Elsewise, maybe closer to Baahstan, girls who were underage to date, but “in love” with Dudes with a car were called Hoodsies as they were often found leaning/sitting on the Guy’s hood when he parked to show it off. (Last year I paid $2.95 in New Mexico to recall the taste of a Moxie…indeed, it was still ugly! LOL Created in Lowell, it somehow became the official State drink of Maine!)
Hi Elva. It’s Hood says that Hoodsies debuted in 1947 (http://hood.com/products/hoodsie-cups/), saying “With chocolate-flavored ice cream on one side and vanilla on the other, these 3-ounce single serve cups have been motivating kids to clean their plates since 1947.” We wish they’d bring back the movie stars!
Ok. I just moved back to the North Shore of Boston after spending some time in Florida. How could one ever forget the Hoodsie! I agree with the comments by some however that the wooden spoon would be a plus as would a picture in the cover that could be traded my kids todaywith the
In reading the comments I saw Blue Bell ice cream (available in the south–I am in MS). mentioned, but they failed to mention their vanilla/chocolate called the “great divide. However as far as I know it is only in pints and gallons. We had a famine for ?blue Bell in the spring when it had a recall. Folks were standing in line the first day it came back. We love our Blue Bell!
I loved Hoodsies as a kid and as a first grade teacher too. A nice classroom treat on a hot day in June. Better than a Popsicle. Easy to pass out, no sticky dripping and no arguing over flavors!
Good thing John Hood came to Massachusetts from England in the 1600’s! His descendants, the Hood brothers, my ‘cousin’ ancestors, started Hood’s Dairy, resulting in the wonderful Hoodsie ice cream cups we all grew up with. I never knew I was related till I recently did my family genealogy @ 83 years old.
I, too, remember the Hoodsies from my childhood in CT. When I read the article, my first thought was that I couldn’t believe I was ten when they were introduced. After reading others’ comments, I know that I remembered correctly and that yes, I was younger. In fact I have a picture of me eating one at age four,mat nursery school! Hood doesn’t know its own history??! We can’t all be wrong.
Sandra, unfortunately, you can’t get Hoodsie Cups, but you can get Maple Walnut ice cream in Phoenix, at Mary Coyle, on 7th Street a little south of Bethany Home. They make their own ice cream.
Im 78 remember Hoodsies before 47. Wish I could get them in Ca. They would be great to have in freezer for snacks for great grandchildren. I can find maple walnut ice cream on rare occasions in a ice cream store. Miss all those goodies you mention, esp coffee ice cream and Eclipse coffee syrup. about a year ago a small shop opened in Encinitas, Ca. called Lobster West. They sell N.E. lobster rolls with the split top rolls. Expensive, but a great treat! Took my daughter there for mother’s day, She had to admit they were the best. Except for visits now and then, have been away since 1962. Still miss all the great foods you talk about as well as special places like Lincoln Woods swimming. Hope to come in fall of 18 and will try to fill up.
I remember eating these in the 40’s and inserting the spoon into the ice cream to turn them into popsicles. I don’t know how they stayed on, but they did and we all enjoyed eating them that way.
Growing up in MA in the 40’s and 50’s, we always had Hoodsies at birthday parties. We kids loved them as a special treat! I’m sad to hear that the wooden spoons are no longer included. I like to think they added to the flavor!
I am 74 and also remember the Hoodsies from my childhood, especially with the picture on the back of the lid and the wooden spoon that was always attached. I worked in Boston and remember seeing the Hoodsie factory on my way home on the train. Oh, for the good old days!
My husband Uncle worked for Hood. He was a mechanic, if you remember the Hood truck were painted yellow. Every room in his house was painted yellow, including the maple kitchen set LOL
I’m a New Hampshirite currently living in “extended exile” in Illinois, but I remember Hoodsies fondly and miss them. Here in the Midwest there are single-serve ice cream cups kind of similar, and I always think of Hoodsies whenever I run across one of those, but of course there’s only one Hoodsie!
I remember that ice cream place as Hagers Ice Cream Factory. As kids, we could go there and get pieces of “dry ice” to drop in water and make “smoke.” Good ice cream too.
I was born in 1947 so I can’t say whether or not they were around before then. I do remember them throughout my childhood, though. Every birthday and, definitely, throughout the summer every year. They still sell them in grocery stores and BJ’s, but I haven’t bought them in quite a while, so I can’t attest to any differences since they were introduced. Definitely, a nice reminder of childhood. By the way, I agree that, back then, the wooden spoon was a must. It was just part of the Hoodsie experience. We also had Hood milk delivered weekly and jewel-like aluminum glasses filled with cottage cheese and I recall a rocket ship shaped plastic glass that my mother made a milkshake for me in when I came home from Summer Day Camp. Wow, fond memories.
I am in my 70’s now, but I remember getting off the school bus and walking across the street to the local small grocery store and buying a vanilla hoodsie cup with the wooden spoon and eating it on the walk to my house. It was the highlight of my day. I do not ever remember getting a Hoodsie that had both chocolate and vanilla ice cream in the same container. That may be where the date of 1947 came from. Maybe 1947 was when Hoodsie put both flavors in one cup so we wouldn’t have to choose. But, the individual flavors of vanilla or choc. were available before then.
I’m 79. Fo day remember our favorite desert Hoodsie Cup ice cream, but for a while back then, the picture of a movie star on the inside of the cover was as much fun as the ice cream. Collect them all.
I’m 88, grew up in Chestnut Hill, Newton, MA. I Could hardly wait for the Good Humor truck to come by if and if I was lucky enough to get a nickel from my mom to get a Hoodsie, I looked forward to seeing which movie star was on the inside of the lid.
I wish they would make a neopolitan version. I just had a hoodie cup this past summer. I live in Connecticut,so they are still available here. The size makes for good portion control. It just wasn’t the same without the little wooden spoon though. I also found the ice cream cups that were either chocolate or strawberry sundaes. They were smaller and cheaper than in the past. I don’t know who made those. Anybody remember those?
The wooden “spoons” add to the experience as a metal spoon somehow “taints” the ice cream. Sort of like using a fork and knife with Asian foods: wooden chopsticks allow the ingredients to be tasted individually. We had Hoodsies in school and what we could do with the used spoons…!
I bought Hoodsies about a year ago, and they “Hood” changed the recipe! They were pumped full of air, instead of rich and smooth, with a high fat content. So sad.
BRING BACK THE WOODEN SPOONS! The spoons were half of the delight of Hoodsies. There is one mistake in you article. The are now sold in packages of 8 not 10. Originally, the were sold in packages if twelve. If you want to supply a classroom of 25 students, you are in trouble. You can buy 3 packages for a total of 24 and hope that at least one student will be absent and the teacher is on a diet and doesn’t want one. Seems like a silly problem but elementary school parties are the beginning for future memories of this yummy treat. Three packages will cost at least $15 or $20 for four packages which will promise that no one is missed. A bit pricey. But again, BRING BACK THE WOODEN SPOONS!
My brother Ken proudly retired as a milkman for Hood’s, a good company. He started out in the family business delivering milk for Crompton’s Dairy of Randolph, Ma that served nearby towns in the 50’s and 60’s. I remember being served hoodsies in grade school, long time ago. Missing New England still….
The one tradition that everyone missed was that when you peeled back the lid and before you dug in, you licked every bit of icecream off the lid until it was spotless Come on! I’ve got my grand kids doing it.
Perfect name for a boat, wouldn’t you say? And so we did, “Hoodsie Cup” in keeping with the tradition of letting our grands help themselves to a Hoodsie Cup from our freezer every time they visit!
Two more details on the Hoodsie cups: under the wax paper, the movie star’s image was coated with a waxy surface ( which you could scrape off with your finger nail, though it was better not to) and when you collected ten or twelve covers, you could send them in to the company for a full size (8×10) color photo. My bedroom wall was covered with them. And, yes, this was long before 1947.
The Hoodsie existed long before 1947. As a young “Depression” kid I lived next door to the Hood Co. distribution center that was located on Elm St, south of Valley St in Manchester NH. We would take the cup lids with the movie stars photo when we had the required number and go right over to the office and pick up the large photo of a favorite star. At the beginning of WW 2 the flavor changed to 1/2 Vanilla to 1/2 orange sherbet. 1947 would be just about right that chocolate made its reappearance. The little cup with its wooden spoon was always a favorite. Incidentally, the shape of the cup went thru changes too.
Aaah Yes…Oldies Kids being nostalgic? Next to Keith Academy in Lowell stood this “plant/lab” that is now being turned into hi-end residences which are next door to the train station for Millennial Baahstan commuters. The station/parking garage probably rests on some of the footprint of the Commodore Ballroom where, in addition to The Totem Pole at Norumbega Park, dancing was to the Big Band Sounds, e.g. before it became a venue for Rock n Roll etc. in the ’60s. A sad day just a couple of years ago, the smokestack was hit by lightning and had to be razed.
RE “The Spoon”…If I close my eyes and squeeze real hard, I can actually taste the spoon! Alas, the PC Police and/or The Save the Tree-Huggers and/or the Cultural Purgers, probably got The Spoon banned!!!
Pre the ’50s (as I never heard the term in the era of ’50s record hops) apparently girl-Tweens often tried to attract the attention of Dudes who had cars, by sitting/leaning on the hoods e.g. at the ice-cream stands and, as such, were called “Hoodsies”! Couldn’t find a pic…maybe they weren’t allowed to take pics of young girls back then. Maybe these are Hoodsies all grown up!!!
Blessings…Be Safe!
Bob
The wooden ice cream spoons can be purchased at Amazon.com. The price is $5.99 for 100 in a bag. Listed as:
Gmark Wooden Ice Cream Spoons 100pc – Tasting Spoons, Ice Cream Sticks 3 Inches Perfect for Tasting, Sampling, Crafts 100/Bag GM1037
I just have to say that reading the ice cream was ‘stingy’ in cups–and miss that spoon too! Good quality is good quality. This new way to boost profits is a sell-out. Neveegg do that, corporate whiz kids!!
I was just talking to my husband about Hoodsies yesterday! I don’t live in New England now, and he did not grow up there and had not heard of them. I grew up in a Boston Suburb and Hoodsies are one of my fondest childhood memories! We had them at school parties and birthday parties, and our elementary school took us on field trips to the Hood Farm. I, too, loved the wooden spoon and the movie star photos on the back of the lids! Great Memories!!
I do remember Hoodsies….Loved them. What I miss even more are the Hood Brownie bars (with a little bear head on the wrapper) They were chocolate covered orange sherbet bars. They were SOOOOOO GOOD! Living down here in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area I miss a lot of my old faves…Marshmallow Fluff, Hoodsies, Freihofer cookies, Essem Hot dogs, Drakes cakes, MacIntosh Apples and the New England hot dog(Lobster roll) buns that you can grill on the sides! Luckily I can still buy Cabot Cheddar cheese in the stores here and on-line!
Thanks Vecino(a) RE the spoons.
In nonCovid times, Red Lobster (Dallas) might have their version of a Lobstaah Roll using the toasty sided rolls. Not too excited about the mix of shrimp as a filler tho, nor the dressing. About $8.95 for what some might call a mini….LOL
– Yo, IMHO, you have to say “Yessem, It’s Essem” when referring to the dogs. If you’re from “back in the day”, you must remember their Polka Hour on Sundays around Noon!
– Aah yes FLUFF! Might check your WallyMart. Elsewise while the FlufferNutter was king, I preferred my Mom’s PB&J with Fluff. On toast was a must as it also helped not tearing the otherwise white Wondaah Bread. Welch’s Grape Jelly is best. Always cut the sangwich(sic) on the diagonal and serve with WISE chips!
Not a big fan of Lobster but I loved the hot dog rolls grilled on the outside and “Yessem, It’s Essem” on the inside with sauted onions. Fluff was available here for a while, but they switched to Kraft Marshmallow Creme and it is HORRIBLE. Grew up in Vermont with Polka Hours on Sunday, Milk deliveries to your door and Freihofer Chocolate chip cookies, cakes and bread delivered to your door. Friehofers not the same recipes since Entemann’s took them over. Do they even make Essem any more? Agree totally on Welch’s Grape Jelly…and MUST be cut diagonally! I put Fluff on top of a mug of hot cocoa as well! You can order the rolls, Drakes cakes (Funny Bones & Devil Dogs) and the Fluff on-line but they ain’t cheap! Ah, yes…almost forgot about WISE chips! We get UTZ down here now.
Alas and Howdy Pardner… I suspect the editor herein, does not take a shine to including URLs. As such Google search ‘Kayem our story’ for the Essem origins as well its still being made. Speaking of hot dogs, we can’t ignore “Nathan’s” especially since you’ll find ‘Nathan Handwerker’ as being a Polack as well! Alas, my Dziadzu i Babci had one of those hole-in-the-wall markets where he stepped it up from the hot dog by making Kielbasa down in the cellar which to me looked like it had been hewn out of ledge. One can see their store surviving by doing a Google Image Search as “Bridge street bridge lowell 1936 flood” and scroll a couple of rows for a caption titled ‘Lowell, Massachusetts’…LOLWhoa Charlenes6…as we remember the end of WWII this very month, and recall such Folks went through WWI, ‘the plague’, The Great Depression, The Cold War, I think we’all come from a foundation built on ‘Grit’ to get us through CoVid! Hope my G-Kids do as well!RE Fluff in cocoa/hot chocolate…But of Course! ya didn’t have to therefore wait till marshmallows melted!Lastly, per stuff Oldies: Google Search ‘Vermont Country Store’ as well as ‘vintage candy’!
Hasta…
Vermont Country Store is definitely a trip down memory lane! I’ve bought stuff from them. We’re from tough New England stock…been through Polio scare; rampant TB, Chicken Pox, Measles, Mumps etc….all before there were vaccines for them. You have to be exposed to germs in order for your body to build up your immune system. If you’re living in a sterile world…the first germ that gets through to you will likely kill you. My Grandma used to say “you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die” (she was Scottish). Check you George Carlin on YouTube for his video regarding “Germs and your immune system” So appropriate for today’s panic over pandemic. Love Kielbasa in beer sauce!
If you have a World Market nearby, that’s where you can get your fix of Fluff. I get my Fluff in Denver at World Market. Yum.
i live in San Diego but i rfeally miss the Hoodsies from when i was a kid in Somerville in the 50’s Hoodsies brought a lot of smiles to kids when we got them at parades ETC
I remember in the mid forties at my friend’s birthday party [ her father and uncle were owners of Hood co. ] 10-12 kids sitting around their dining room table eating [ what else ? ] Hoodsies of course and playing telephone/ gossip
I don’t remember seeing ANYONE ever using one of the wooden “spoons” (or a regular spoon) in one of these… Peel lid, fold lid, scoop and enjoy! If you’re using a spoon… You’re doing it wrong!
We lived in south boston in the Old Harbor village across the street from st Mary’s…fond memories each year around the 4th of July, went up to
the Old Harbor “Maintenance” bldg along the rail road tracks, and
where we used to climb up on the coal “hills” and slide down ..the Maintenance
guy would come out of the maintenance door where all us kids would be anxiously awaiting to see him bringing out the big bags fulll of Hoodsie cups…
who would throw handfull after handfull quickly out over our heads…and
we would scramble to catch mid air…or pickup what made it to the ground..
as many as we could…..never came home with less than 10 hoodsies
what great memories for a kid & even for an 86 year old Southie kid.
I am 86 , grew up in R.I. and well remember Hoodsies. The cup was a bit taller and not as big around and of course all the movie stars in the lids. I am sure my memory of them is before l947. Never remember any flavor other than chocolate and vanilla. Taste is better on the little wooden “spoon”.
I haven’t lived in New England in many years but am New Englander to my very soul and always will be. I do remember hoodsies and yes the wooden spoon was part of the flavor experience. I miss the hot dog buns you can toast on both sides, Waleeco coconut candy bars. Bazooka gum with the comics, devil dogs and so much more. It was truly a joy to read everyone’s comments. It brought tears to my heart and a longing for “home”.
Oh my goodness. I have lived in Colorado since 1974, but I’m a New England girl true and true. I was raised in New Hampshire. Pete all of the thing you mentioned I love dearly. I think I had hoodsie at birth. Essem(sp) hot dogs with the two sided buns sides hot dog buns. When I do get back there to visit I plan out all the goodie I have to have. Thanks Pete.
In the 70’s in Reading MA, my grandparents would give me a Hoodsie and I would eat almost all of it – then give the rest to their German Shephard Tasha and yell: “Tasha just ate my Hoodsie!!” and they would get me another one. I seriously love this memory… (And I think they may have known exactly what was going on because they always let Tasha sit with me and she never once was scolded) 🙂
Thanks so much for this story, Amy, I love it. Your grandparents must have had such a wonderful sense of how to use a simple routine to make a great memory for a kid, and for Tasha, too!
I loved these as a kid, my parents often had them in our freezer. I distinctly remember one night when I was around 7 or 8 years old. I was a child extra in a community theater production of Brigadoon my parents were in charge of, it was a late hour, the rehearsal was going on an on and on and I was exhausted, and they called for another run-through of some scene or song, and I just broke, just started spontaneously bawling on stage. Fortunately they recognized what was the cause, they got me off-stage an calmed down, and we left as soon as the run-through was done. I was still sniffling on the drive home when I wasn’t unconscious, and even though it was close to near midnight, when we got home they offered me one of those ice cream cups to cheer me up before putting me to bed. To this day there are times when I am tempted to buy a bag of these things as comfort food. I’m an adult now in Wisconsin, haven’t been able to travel back to New England for many years, and I see things LIKE Hoodsies sold in supermarkets, but I don’t think they’re quite the same. I never knew they were just regional until reading this article – I also never realized Hood is also a regional company but it makes sense since I never see it out here in the Midwest.
Loved them and usually it was vanilla first then chocolate but sometimes a little of each. Did they ever make strawberry ? The Necco wafers ( loved the chocolate ) and Moxie were loved as well.
I am almost 82 and remember the Hoodsies ice cream as Neapolitan, as it was called then: chocolate, strawberry in the middle, and then vanilla. Since no one has mentioned strawberry, do I misremember? Also, for sure, the cups were cylindrical, taller, not squat as they appear today, and they were white with big round red dots scattered around them. And of course, they had the movie star lids!
Yes, you are exactly right. That is how I remember them! I was beginning to think that I had “misremembered”! I feel better now!
Love the last line!
Loved them as a kid and loved them as a teacher. Easy and yummy!
Awwww…..Loved, loved, loved reading this!
Where can I buy Hoodsies? I live in Florida
I have to disagree with the assertion that “Hoodsies” were introduced in 1947. I grew up in Dorchester, Mass. in the thirties, and forties, and one of the traditions on the fourth of July was to go to Garvey Park on Neponset Avenue, and receive “Hoodsies”. I know we did this in the late thirties, and early forties. I remember “Hoodsies” fondly, and wish you could buy them in Dallas. Incidently we had Hood milk etc. delivered as long as I can remember.
My wife, and I never miss going to Friendly’s, whenever we see one in our travels. We miss Howard
Johnsons since I was brought up on their ice cream.
As far as coffee ice cream you cannot beat Blue Bell coffee ice cream. However it is sold mainly in Texas, and Oklahoma.
Enjoyed the article.
Warren and Berniece Rand
Can you compare ice cream & frozen yogurt for me?
Hoodsies……yukk, even as a kid ( and I am 79 now) Hoodsies were garbage ice cream, chalkie and pretty tasteless and we lived just outside Boston so they were fresh. Maybe Hoodsies had to be aged to taste good but I doubt it.
Hoodsies, Necco Wafers, and Moxie: Those products brought back good childhood memories. Living in the Arizona desert now, I miss them. I do order Moxie on line. Thanks for the memories
Love this comment ! I was raised in Roxbury but move to Dorchester in the mid to late sixties. Love Hoodsies and miss Howard Johnson’s. Live in Las Vegas now.
We had a similar dessert here in the South. The spoons were in a little box on the ice cream cooler. Now they are sold 10 in a bag and the little spoon is attached to the lid. They are still a nostalgic treat,even though the ice cream doesn’t taste any different.
Warren and Berniece are right on target. I am 81 and grew up in Dorchester MA. Hoodsies were around in the thirties. The Hood Milk Company used to deliver milk in horse drawn wagons until a fire in the barn killed the horses. I think around 1943
Hi Jerry. Thanks for your comment! I got the date of 1947 directly from the Hood website (http://www.hood.com/products/hoodsie-cups/). They say “With chocolate-flavored ice cream on one side and vanilla on the other, these 3-ounce single serve cups have been motivating kids to clean their plates since 1947.” Perhaps Hood made a similar ice cream treat before the Hoodsie? Or perhaps they have the date wrong? I’ll work on solving the mystery!
Another nice article, Aimee. Though I grew up in the Midwest and was thereby deprived of the joys of a Hoodsie, we had our equivalent from some other dairy company. What I liked most is your comment about the flat, wooden spoon. You’re absolutely right–it doesn’t taste the same without that little “canoe paddle” acting as the vessel from cup to mouth!
The most important fact about Hoodsies was left out!! The lid’s backside was a black and white picture of a movie star, with a circle of waxed paper over it. We traded these pictures, and always hoped for one we had not yet gotten!!
Yes!my favorite was a Hoodsie Cup around 1945 and we collected and traded the movie star photo lids! Often thought about that.
Loved these as a kid. I grew up Lowell and Nashua – we always had a bag of Hoodsies in the freezer. I live in Atlanta now and I found these at BJ’s!! I may have to get a bag today!!
I recall Hoodsies, as do many others, from my childhood, and still have a lid with Maureen O’Hara’s photo on it. These movie star photos were placed on the inside of the lids in the 40’s. The Hoodsie Cup has changed, however, over the years, with the bottom being recessed and the top also pressed down. We can accept that, in the light of corporate concerns for the bottom line, but recently I have purchased the product which, I suppose, due to poor quality control, is ‘missing’ some ice cream. The poured product is caved in on one side or the other, and in some more recent purchases, the dome of ice cream is without anything around the edges. The price remains the same, but the quantity of ice cream has diminished, in these instances. Is this merely an error or oversight, or is this the standard practice we face in the future? I hope the reputation of Hoodsies will not be tarnished by inept or careless quality control….”Where’s the ice cream?”
Wow, finally someone noticed voids ( less quantity in 3 oz cups ) in the Hoodsie cups. Been buying them for quite a long time at local supermarkets in Merrimac Valley Mass. Something needs to be done about their quality control. Cups are labeled HP Hood LLC Lynnfield mass.
I am 86 and remember Hoodsies well from 1936-8 in Massachusetts, so I don’t understand 1947 as the start either. Only the outside design has changed.
Grew up in East Boston in the 40’s and 50’s and remember sitting on curbs with my friends eating Hoodsies and getting free Hoodsies at the Gem a local movie house on the 4th of July!!!
Yum!
Kudos to Y’all who are showing off that your memories are still intact, e.g. Yes! the movie star pics under the lid! In Lowell in the ’50s, we called dances in stinky gyms, record hops. Earlier they were reportedly know as Hoodsies…I don’t know why…maybe they served Hoodsies? Elsewise, maybe closer to Baahstan, girls who were underage to date, but “in love” with Dudes with a car were called Hoodsies as they were often found leaning/sitting on the Guy’s hood when he parked to show it off. (Last year I paid $2.95 in New Mexico to recall the taste of a Moxie…indeed, it was still ugly! LOL Created in Lowell, it somehow became the official State drink of Maine!)
I had my share and then some of these treats.
I’m 88 years young- and remember Hoodsies with movie stars on the inside cover in the 30’s -why do you say 1947?
Hi Elva. It’s Hood says that Hoodsies debuted in 1947 (http://hood.com/products/hoodsie-cups/), saying “With chocolate-flavored ice cream on one side and vanilla on the other, these 3-ounce single serve cups have been motivating kids to clean their plates since 1947.” We wish they’d bring back the movie stars!
Ok. I just moved back to the North Shore of Boston after spending some time in Florida. How could one ever forget the Hoodsie! I agree with the comments by some however that the wooden spoon would be a plus as would a picture in the cover that could be traded my kids todaywith the
In reading the comments I saw Blue Bell ice cream (available in the south–I am in MS). mentioned, but they failed to mention their vanilla/chocolate called the “great divide. However as far as I know it is only in pints and gallons. We had a famine for ?blue Bell in the spring when it had a recall. Folks were standing in line the first day it came back. We love our Blue Bell!
Blue Bell is garbage. This article is about Hoodsie cups.
Does anyone else remember a Hoodsie version in a blue and white cup? The vanilla had a subtle orange flavor and I preferred it to the regular Hoodsie.
My grandparents lived in Rhode Island and would treat us to Hoodsie Cups. I live in NY and have seen them sold at my local Price Chopper.
I loved Hoodsies as a kid and as a first grade teacher too. A nice classroom treat on a hot day in June. Better than a Popsicle. Easy to pass out, no sticky dripping and no arguing over flavors!
Good thing John Hood came to Massachusetts from England in the 1600’s! His descendants, the Hood brothers, my ‘cousin’ ancestors, started Hood’s Dairy, resulting in the wonderful Hoodsie ice cream cups we all grew up with. I never knew I was related till I recently did my family genealogy @ 83 years old.
I, too, remember the Hoodsies from my childhood in CT. When I read the article, my first thought was that I couldn’t believe I was ten when they were introduced. After reading others’ comments, I know that I remembered correctly and that yes, I was younger. In fact I have a picture of me eating one at age four,mat nursery school! Hood doesn’t know its own history??! We can’t all be wrong.
I miss my Maple Walnut Ice cream. It’s non existent in Arizona
Sandra, unfortunately, you can’t get Hoodsie Cups, but you can get Maple Walnut ice cream in Phoenix, at Mary Coyle, on 7th Street a little south of Bethany Home. They make their own ice cream.
Im 78 remember Hoodsies before 47. Wish I could get them in Ca. They would be great to have in freezer for snacks for great grandchildren. I can find maple walnut ice cream on rare occasions in a ice cream store. Miss all those goodies you mention, esp coffee ice cream and Eclipse coffee syrup. about a year ago a small shop opened in Encinitas, Ca. called Lobster West. They sell N.E. lobster rolls with the split top rolls. Expensive, but a great treat! Took my daughter there for mother’s day, She had to admit they were the best. Except for visits now and then, have been away since 1962. Still miss all the great foods you talk about as well as special places like Lincoln Woods swimming. Hope to come in fall of 18 and will try to fill up.
my son recently found a Hoodsie lid cover with Lucille Ball’s picture on it. He does construction work in the Boston area
I remember eating these in the 40’s and inserting the spoon into the ice cream to turn them into popsicles. I don’t know how they stayed on, but they did and we all enjoyed eating them that way.
Growing up in MA in the 40’s and 50’s, we always had Hoodsies at birthday parties. We kids loved them as a special treat! I’m sad to hear that the wooden spoons are no longer included. I like to think they added to the flavor!
I am 74 and also remember the Hoodsies from my childhood, especially with the picture on the back of the lid and the wooden spoon that was always attached. I worked in Boston and remember seeing the Hoodsie factory on my way home on the train. Oh, for the good old days!
My husband Uncle worked for Hood. He was a mechanic, if you remember the Hood truck were painted yellow. Every room in his house was painted yellow, including the maple kitchen set LOL
I’m a New Hampshirite currently living in “extended exile” in Illinois, but I remember Hoodsies fondly and miss them. Here in the Midwest there are single-serve ice cream cups kind of similar, and I always think of Hoodsies whenever I run across one of those, but of course there’s only one Hoodsie!
Loved the Hoodsie cups, disliked the flat wooden spoons that felt dry as bark on the tongue.
Opened a Hoodsie cup this afternoon, it was almost empty like the cup was not filled properly. Opened another…same thing. What?
The Hood Ice Cream was on the corner of Mystic Ave and Temple, in Somerville Massachusetts. We bought creamsicles and fudgicles by the box. YUM
I remember that ice cream place as Hagers Ice Cream Factory. As kids, we could go there and get pieces of “dry ice” to drop in water and make “smoke.” Good ice cream too.
I was born in 1947 so I can’t say whether or not they were around before then. I do remember them throughout my childhood, though. Every birthday and, definitely, throughout the summer every year. They still sell them in grocery stores and BJ’s, but I haven’t bought them in quite a while, so I can’t attest to any differences since they were introduced. Definitely, a nice reminder of childhood. By the way, I agree that, back then, the wooden spoon was a must. It was just part of the Hoodsie experience. We also had Hood milk delivered weekly and jewel-like aluminum glasses filled with cottage cheese and I recall a rocket ship shaped plastic glass that my mother made a milkshake for me in when I came home from Summer Day Camp. Wow, fond memories.
Bring back the wooden spoons!
I am in my 70’s now, but I remember getting off the school bus and walking across the street to the local small grocery store and buying a vanilla hoodsie cup with the wooden spoon and eating it on the walk to my house. It was the highlight of my day. I do not ever remember getting a Hoodsie that had both chocolate and vanilla ice cream in the same container. That may be where the date of 1947 came from. Maybe 1947 was when Hoodsie put both flavors in one cup so we wouldn’t have to choose. But, the individual flavors of vanilla or choc. were available before then.
I’m 79. Fo day remember our favorite desert Hoodsie Cup ice cream, but for a while back then, the picture of a movie star on the inside of the cover was as much fun as the ice cream. Collect them all.
I’m 88, grew up in Chestnut Hill, Newton, MA. I Could hardly wait for the Good Humor truck to come by if and if I was lucky enough to get a nickel from my mom to get a Hoodsie, I looked forward to seeing which movie star was on the inside of the lid.
I wish they would make a neopolitan version. I just had a hoodie cup this past summer. I live in Connecticut,so they are still available here. The size makes for good portion control. It just wasn’t the same without the little wooden spoon though. I also found the ice cream cups that were either chocolate or strawberry sundaes. They were smaller and cheaper than in the past. I don’t know who made those. Anybody remember those?
The wooden “spoons” add to the experience as a metal spoon somehow “taints” the ice cream. Sort of like using a fork and knife with Asian foods: wooden chopsticks allow the ingredients to be tasted individually. We had Hoodsies in school and what we could do with the used spoons…!
I bought Hoodsies about a year ago, and they “Hood” changed the recipe! They were pumped full of air, instead of rich and smooth, with a high fat content. So sad.
BRING BACK THE WOODEN SPOONS! The spoons were half of the delight of Hoodsies. There is one mistake in you article. The are now sold in packages of 8 not 10. Originally, the were sold in packages if twelve. If you want to supply a classroom of 25 students, you are in trouble. You can buy 3 packages for a total of 24 and hope that at least one student will be absent and the teacher is on a diet and doesn’t want one. Seems like a silly problem but elementary school parties are the beginning for future memories of this yummy treat. Three packages will cost at least $15 or $20 for four packages which will promise that no one is missed. A bit pricey. But again, BRING BACK THE WOODEN SPOONS!
My brother Ken proudly retired as a milkman for Hood’s, a good company. He started out in the family business delivering milk for Crompton’s Dairy of Randolph, Ma that served nearby towns in the 50’s and 60’s. I remember being served hoodsies in grade school, long time ago. Missing New England still….
The one tradition that everyone missed was that when you peeled back the lid and before you dug in, you licked every bit of icecream off the lid until it was spotless Come on! I’ve got my grand kids doing it.
Absolutely!!!
Definitely. Nothing went to waste when we were kids.
Perfect name for a boat, wouldn’t you say? And so we did, “Hoodsie Cup” in keeping with the tradition of letting our grands help themselves to a Hoodsie Cup from our freezer every time they visit!
Where can I buy Hoodsies cups. I live in Tennessee but originally I’m a Connecticut girlpp
I’m 63 and I remember having Hoodsies vanilla on one side and chocolate on the other.
Two more details on the Hoodsie cups: under the wax paper, the movie star’s image was coated with a waxy surface ( which you could scrape off with your finger nail, though it was better not to) and when you collected ten or twelve covers, you could send them in to the company for a full size (8×10) color photo. My bedroom wall was covered with them. And, yes, this was long before 1947.
The Hoodsie existed long before 1947. As a young “Depression” kid I lived next door to the Hood Co. distribution center that was located on Elm St, south of Valley St in Manchester NH. We would take the cup lids with the movie stars photo when we had the required number and go right over to the office and pick up the large photo of a favorite star. At the beginning of WW 2 the flavor changed to 1/2 Vanilla to 1/2 orange sherbet. 1947 would be just about right that chocolate made its reappearance. The little cup with its wooden spoon was always a favorite. Incidentally, the shape of the cup went thru changes too.
Aaah Yes…Oldies Kids being nostalgic? Next to Keith Academy in Lowell stood this “plant/lab” that is now being turned into hi-end residences which are next door to the train station for Millennial Baahstan commuters. The station/parking garage probably rests on some of the footprint of the Commodore Ballroom where, in addition to The Totem Pole at Norumbega Park, dancing was to the Big Band Sounds, e.g. before it became a venue for Rock n Roll etc. in the ’60s. A sad day just a couple of years ago, the smokestack was hit by lightning and had to be razed.
RE “The Spoon”…If I close my eyes and squeeze real hard, I can actually taste the spoon! Alas, the PC Police and/or The Save the Tree-Huggers and/or the Cultural Purgers, probably got The Spoon banned!!!
Pre the ’50s (as I never heard the term in the era of ’50s record hops) apparently girl-Tweens often tried to attract the attention of Dudes who had cars, by sitting/leaning on the hoods e.g. at the ice-cream stands and, as such, were called “Hoodsies”! Couldn’t find a pic…maybe they weren’t allowed to take pics of young girls back then. Maybe these are Hoodsies all grown up!!!
Blessings…Be Safe!
Bob
The wooden ice cream spoons can be purchased at Amazon.com. The price is $5.99 for 100 in a bag. Listed as:
Gmark Wooden Ice Cream Spoons 100pc – Tasting Spoons, Ice Cream Sticks 3 Inches Perfect for Tasting, Sampling, Crafts 100/Bag GM1037
I just have to say that reading the ice cream was ‘stingy’ in cups–and miss that spoon too! Good quality is good quality. This new way to boost profits is a sell-out. Neveegg do that, corporate whiz kids!!
I was just talking to my husband about Hoodsies yesterday! I don’t live in New England now, and he did not grow up there and had not heard of them. I grew up in a Boston Suburb and Hoodsies are one of my fondest childhood memories! We had them at school parties and birthday parties, and our elementary school took us on field trips to the Hood Farm. I, too, loved the wooden spoon and the movie star photos on the back of the lids! Great Memories!!
I do remember Hoodsies….Loved them. What I miss even more are the Hood Brownie bars (with a little bear head on the wrapper) They were chocolate covered orange sherbet bars. They were SOOOOOO GOOD! Living down here in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area I miss a lot of my old faves…Marshmallow Fluff, Hoodsies, Freihofer cookies, Essem Hot dogs, Drakes cakes, MacIntosh Apples and the New England hot dog(Lobster roll) buns that you can grill on the sides! Luckily I can still buy Cabot Cheddar cheese in the stores here and on-line!
Thanks Vecino(a) RE the spoons.
In nonCovid times, Red Lobster (Dallas) might have their version of a Lobstaah Roll using the toasty sided rolls. Not too excited about the mix of shrimp as a filler tho, nor the dressing. About $8.95 for what some might call a mini….LOL
– Yo, IMHO, you have to say “Yessem, It’s Essem” when referring to the dogs. If you’re from “back in the day”, you must remember their Polka Hour on Sundays around Noon!
– Aah yes FLUFF! Might check your WallyMart. Elsewise while the FlufferNutter was king, I preferred my Mom’s PB&J with Fluff. On toast was a must as it also helped not tearing the otherwise white Wondaah Bread. Welch’s Grape Jelly is best. Always cut the sangwich(sic) on the diagonal and serve with WISE chips!
Not a big fan of Lobster but I loved the hot dog rolls grilled on the outside and “Yessem, It’s Essem” on the inside with sauted onions. Fluff was available here for a while, but they switched to Kraft Marshmallow Creme and it is HORRIBLE. Grew up in Vermont with Polka Hours on Sunday, Milk deliveries to your door and Freihofer Chocolate chip cookies, cakes and bread delivered to your door. Friehofers not the same recipes since Entemann’s took them over. Do they even make Essem any more? Agree totally on Welch’s Grape Jelly…and MUST be cut diagonally! I put Fluff on top of a mug of hot cocoa as well! You can order the rolls, Drakes cakes (Funny Bones & Devil Dogs) and the Fluff on-line but they ain’t cheap! Ah, yes…almost forgot about WISE chips! We get UTZ down here now.
Alas and Howdy Pardner… I suspect the editor herein, does not take a shine to including URLs. As such Google search ‘Kayem our story’ for the Essem origins as well its still being made. Speaking of hot dogs, we can’t ignore “Nathan’s” especially since you’ll find ‘Nathan Handwerker’ as being a Polack as well! Alas, my Dziadzu i Babci had one of those hole-in-the-wall markets where he stepped it up from the hot dog by making Kielbasa down in the cellar which to me looked like it had been hewn out of ledge. One can see their store surviving by doing a Google Image Search as “Bridge street bridge lowell 1936 flood” and scroll a couple of rows for a caption titled ‘Lowell, Massachusetts’…LOLWhoa Charlenes6…as we remember the end of WWII this very month, and recall such Folks went through WWI, ‘the plague’, The Great Depression, The Cold War, I think we’all come from a foundation built on ‘Grit’ to get us through CoVid! Hope my G-Kids do as well!RE Fluff in cocoa/hot chocolate…But of Course! ya didn’t have to therefore wait till marshmallows melted!Lastly, per stuff Oldies: Google Search ‘Vermont Country Store’ as well as ‘vintage candy’!
Hasta…
Vermont Country Store is definitely a trip down memory lane! I’ve bought stuff from them. We’re from tough New England stock…been through Polio scare; rampant TB, Chicken Pox, Measles, Mumps etc….all before there were vaccines for them. You have to be exposed to germs in order for your body to build up your immune system. If you’re living in a sterile world…the first germ that gets through to you will likely kill you. My Grandma used to say “you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die” (she was Scottish). Check you George Carlin on YouTube for his video regarding “Germs and your immune system” So appropriate for today’s panic over pandemic. Love Kielbasa in beer sauce!
If you have a World Market nearby, that’s where you can get your fix of Fluff. I get my Fluff in Denver at World Market. Yum.
Yes Marshmello fluff. Colorado only had marsh mellow creme.
I live in St Louis , I’m from Boston. Is there any store her that carries Hoodsie ice cream cups? I’d love to get some….
i live in San Diego but i rfeally miss the Hoodsies from when i was a kid in Somerville in the 50’s Hoodsies brought a lot of smiles to kids when we got them at parades ETC
I remember in the mid forties at my friend’s birthday party [ her father and uncle were owners of Hood co. ] 10-12 kids sitting around their dining room table eating [ what else ? ] Hoodsies of course and playing telephone/ gossip
I don’t remember seeing ANYONE ever using one of the wooden “spoons” (or a regular spoon) in one of these… Peel lid, fold lid, scoop and enjoy! If you’re using a spoon… You’re doing it wrong!
We lived in south boston in the Old Harbor village across the street from st Mary’s…fond memories each year around the 4th of July, went up to
the Old Harbor “Maintenance” bldg along the rail road tracks, and
where we used to climb up on the coal “hills” and slide down ..the Maintenance
guy would come out of the maintenance door where all us kids would be anxiously awaiting to see him bringing out the big bags fulll of Hoodsie cups…
who would throw handfull after handfull quickly out over our heads…and
we would scramble to catch mid air…or pickup what made it to the ground..
as many as we could…..never came home with less than 10 hoodsies
what great memories for a kid & even for an 86 year old Southie kid.
forget the wooden spoon with Hoodsies….We ate them with a Sunshine Hydrox cookie and then ate the ‘spoon’
I am 86 , grew up in R.I. and well remember Hoodsies. The cup was a bit taller and not as big around and of course all the movie stars in the lids. I am sure my memory of them is before l947. Never remember any flavor other than chocolate and vanilla. Taste is better on the little wooden “spoon”.
I haven’t lived in New England in many years but am New Englander to my very soul and always will be. I do remember hoodsies and yes the wooden spoon was part of the flavor experience. I miss the hot dog buns you can toast on both sides, Waleeco coconut candy bars. Bazooka gum with the comics, devil dogs and so much more. It was truly a joy to read everyone’s comments. It brought tears to my heart and a longing for “home”.
Oh my goodness. I have lived in Colorado since 1974, but I’m a New England girl true and true. I was raised in New Hampshire. Pete all of the thing you mentioned I love dearly. I think I had hoodsie at birth. Essem(sp) hot dogs with the two sided buns sides hot dog buns. When I do get back there to visit I plan out all the goodie I have to have. Thanks Pete.
In the 70’s in Reading MA, my grandparents would give me a Hoodsie and I would eat almost all of it – then give the rest to their German Shephard Tasha and yell: “Tasha just ate my Hoodsie!!” and they would get me another one. I seriously love this memory… (And I think they may have known exactly what was going on because they always let Tasha sit with me and she never once was scolded) 🙂
Thanks so much for this story, Amy, I love it. Your grandparents must have had such a wonderful sense of how to use a simple routine to make a great memory for a kid, and for Tasha, too!
I loved these as a kid, my parents often had them in our freezer. I distinctly remember one night when I was around 7 or 8 years old. I was a child extra in a community theater production of Brigadoon my parents were in charge of, it was a late hour, the rehearsal was going on an on and on and I was exhausted, and they called for another run-through of some scene or song, and I just broke, just started spontaneously bawling on stage. Fortunately they recognized what was the cause, they got me off-stage an calmed down, and we left as soon as the run-through was done. I was still sniffling on the drive home when I wasn’t unconscious, and even though it was close to near midnight, when we got home they offered me one of those ice cream cups to cheer me up before putting me to bed. To this day there are times when I am tempted to buy a bag of these things as comfort food. I’m an adult now in Wisconsin, haven’t been able to travel back to New England for many years, and I see things LIKE Hoodsies sold in supermarkets, but I don’t think they’re quite the same. I never knew they were just regional until reading this article – I also never realized Hood is also a regional company but it makes sense since I never see it out here in the Midwest.