DeLuxe Ice Cream Started in 1924

The Mooresville Ice Cream Company was organized on February 9, 1924 to supply high quality ice cream to customers in Mooresville and the surrounding area. The original investors included B. A. Troutman, Tom Morrow, Masoud Salem, E. H. Francis, Joe Ikall, Charles Mack, Side Mack, Hugh Sloop and Miller Drug Company.

On February 21, 1924 Harry Deaton's Mooresville Enterprise reported on the development of a new member of the Mooresville economic team under the headline Mooresville is to have an Ice Cream Factory.

"The company for the manufacture of frozen goods was organized last Thursday night with an authorized capital of $50,000, with $12,500 paid in. The incorporators are: B. A. Troutman, Charles Mack, Side Mack, Joe Ikall, Ben Salem, Thomas Morrow, H. C. Newsome and others. The company has purchased a lot from B. A. Troutman next to the Creamery property, where a building is already under construction. The factory will be equipped with modern facilities and the cream will be made and inspected according to the pure food laws. It is the purpose of the company to have everything in readiness for the delivery of cream from the plant not later than the first of May. "At a meeting of the stockholders the following board of directors were elected: Thomas Morrow, H. C. Newsome, Victor A. Johnston, B. A. Troutman, Charles Mack. The directors then elected officers as follows: B. A. Troutman, president; Charles Mack, vice president."

Charles Mack developed the original recipe and was the master ice cream maker for the company. Before the building was completed, Mack made the ice cream in the basement of his Candy Kitchen on North Main Street. DeLuxe became another "Moor" brand that was known for its premium quality.

Robert S. Edmiston succeeded B. A. Troutman as president of the company. Ralph Millsaps served as secretary-treasurer and general manager until 1943 when he became president of the Mooresville Ice Cream Company. The Millsaps family purchased Edmiston’s interest in the company in 1947. R. C Millsaps became president, with his sons Harvey and Clyde serving as vice presidents.

The company broadened its line of products to include more flavors of ice cream, popsicles, fudge bars and the Mooresville bar. New products were added and promoted over the years such as the locally popular Texas Pecan flavor. The company engaged in an extensive promotion of the product. The company’s signature ice cream bar was named for the town, the Mooresville Bar. Always a favorite of customers, it is part of a product line that strives to provide high quality refreshment for everyone.

Cooperative Creamery Success Led to Sweet Treats

Ice cream manufacturing started as a result of the success of the Mooresville Cooperative Creamery. Officials looked for a way to use the excess cream and milk and found ice cream as a solution.

Southern Iredell dairy farmers joined forces in 1914 to operate a creamery in Mooresville. Much of the butter fat sold in Hickory was coming from Mooresville and Iredell County, so it seemed prudent to the local farmers to organize their own creamery. Stock was sold for $25 per share, and $6,000 was raised in two days. To insure that the operation was truly a "cooperative", stockholders were limited to four shares each.

The Mooresville Cooperative Creamery produced large quantities of butter fat and sold it in regional markets. Autumn Leaf butter was produced in the plant at the corner of Moore Avenue and Broad Street and was available in local grocery stores. Eugene Johnston and William Perry managed the day to day operations from the Creamery offices on the corner of West Moore Avenue and North Broad Street.

The Mooresville Dairy, operated by the Harris Brothers, produced milk for delivery in town and to the Mooresville Cotton Mills and Mill Village. The operation was sold to the Creamery in 1946.

In 1937 pasteurizing equipment was installed to make Grade A milk for local consumption. Whole milk was purchased from farmers in the cooperative and processed in the local plant. Daily delivery from the creamery resulted in additional revenues for the farmers and freedom from the delivery and collection process.

The milk produced was of the finest quality, establishing another "Moor" product as the best available. "Pure-Pak" coated paper cartons replaced the standard glass bottles containing the slogan "I serve healthful Mooresville Creamery milk... it’s country fresh." Other "Moor" quality products included homogenized milk, buttermilk, whipping cream, chocolate milk, orangeade and Autumn Leaf butter.

The glass milk bottles of the Cooperative Creamery, Mooresville Dairy and Edmiston Dairy were delivered daily to Mooresville area residents. Each home that bought milk was supplied with an insulated metal "cooler" for the front porch. In the early days a card with numbers was placed in the window to tell the "milkman" what to deliver.