Greetings, from your friends at Mad Maggie's Ice Cream! The only ice cream that guarantees that you'll look sexier while eating it ^*.

^* Legal disclaimer: go ahead, try to prove that eating ice cream doesn't make you look sexier.

Well, as bad as the April weather was, May ended up being a wonderful month for us. We finished the month up over 80% from last year's sales. That's not as impressive as it sounds, as last May was one of our worst months ever. Still, our daily average through this same time last year was up over 40%, so we're very hopeful that our little store is finally becoming known for having the best ice cream around and attracting the type of traffic required to turn a reasonable profit.

And, with work on the North Andover location nearing completion, this little "ice cream hobby" of ours is gradually becoming a real business. Something that feels very rewarding after all of the long years of trying to build this business from scratch!

Summer T's are In

Our summer T-shirts are in, and they look MAHV-A-LOUS! We have blue or green "Comfort Colors" shirts for the boys' style, and a blue or salmon HYP shirts with chocolate trim for the girls' style. Hop on over to our photo gallery to see a cute photo of two of this year's "Rookies" modeling the girl's shirt:

We bought plenty of these this year, as we had a lot of disappointed customers who wanted one of last year's shirts. Come on by and grab one for only $13, which is roughly our cost for these high quality shirts.

We also have a limited number of embroidered baseball hats and aprons, so pick up one for Dad or for that special Grad on your list! (The kids all know: it's next to impossible to keep the opposite sex away when you're wearing a Mad Maggie's apron.)

Someone I Never Thought I'd Thank!

All of us, I'm sure, can remember back to when we were in middle or high school, and had a tough teacher whose class we really hated going to. I had several -- those teachers who thought nothing of giving you a 5000 word essay or a hard physics assignment to complete over a holiday weekend!

Well, one of my past tormentors is retiring from the North Reading High School this week, and I thought I'd take a second to do something that I never thought I'd do -- to thank her for making me better!

I do a lot of writing. I probably read 100 or so emails a day, and respond to a good percentage of them. I write this bi-weekly newsletter during the ice cream season. I try to write a weekly memo to the team who work for me at the store. I moderate a Yahoo discussion group for others like me in the ice cream business. And I contribute a few articles a year to one or another of the ice cream industry trade magazines. And in the past, I've even stood in as a technical writer at a few of the startups I've worked for.

When people tell me that I write well, I'm flattered, but I really don't consider myself a great writer. I'm an engineer at heart, and I know I get too detailed and wordy at times -- Maggie would say all of the time!

When someone asks where I learned to write, I don't really have a good answer, as writing is something that always came pretty naturally to me, but I know that the basis for my writing skills came from my high school courses, where I had some very good teachers in the North Reading school system.

I had several "English Composition"-type courses in college, but those were pretty easy, I more or less slept through them and still aced them, as I already had a good basic understanding of how to present a topic in written form. I think my high school courses were more difficult than any of the college courses I took.

When Katie, one of the North Reading team members who works for me, was complaining last year about the homework load that her teacher was giving her, we got to talking, and realized that the teacher she was complaining about was one that I'd had for the same course back when I was a student at North Reading High way back in the 70's!

We had some laughs comparing notes, as I remembered the quarterly "Journals" she made us keep, the daily vocabulary words she assigned, and the principles of basic writing that she drilled into us with assignment after assignment. I never thought that class would end!

Those courses (if I remember correctly, I had her for two years) seemed like torture to endure back when I was a young, foolish kid. But now that I'm a somewhat older foolish man and look back on it, those couple of years probably had more of an effect on improving my writing skills than any others. As much as I complained about the workload, I know that those assignments helped me to learn how to organize my thoughts, and to present them clearly in written form.

I'm sure she doesn't remember me, as I was pretty much a typical, bored high school English student, and one who was much more interested my in math and science courses. But I remember her, a little grudgingly maybe, but with more and more of a sense of appreciation as the years pass. And I'm sure she's had a similar affect on hundreds, maybe thousands, of others who've passed through the North Reading School system over the years, whether they realize it or not!

So, Ms. Welsch (Ms. Ensminger, when I had her...), thanks and enjoy your retirement!

North Andover Update

"When is your North Andover location going to be open?"

If I hear that question once, I hear it 20 times every day! Sometimes, when I'm dead tired at the end of a busy night, and someone asks me that, it's all I can do to keep a smile and patiently explain how things are progressing.

Luckily, we've had some great progress at the North Andover location since the past newsletter, so maybe we'll be able to get open this month and I can stop answering that question!

The basement floor is done, the final plumbing is in and inspected, and the walls are insulated and sheetrocked, and the finish floors should be in any day now. It's actually starting to look like an ice cream store!

Our walk in freezer and cooler were delivered, and are now in place in the basement awaiting connections from our trusty refrigeration service. My son David and I built the walls for the basement "employees only" bathroom that Maggie insists on having. (It's been a long time since my college summers working on a construction crew, I can't swing a hammer like I used to!)

We have a hearing with the North Andover Board of Selectmen on the 25th for final approval of our Common Victualler's license, and hopefully we'll be open soon thereafter. I'll send out a special update when we have the official date.

Dust Off Those PJ's!

Schools are letting out for the summer, and that means it's time for our annual "Mad Maggie's Pajama Party"!

We traditionally hold this on the last day of school, which doesn't always work out exactly right, as we straddle the line between Andover and North Reading, and the school systems sometimes finish up on different days.

This year's party will be on Monday, June 18th, from 6pm until closing. Break out the silliest PJ's in your drawer, put them on, and head over to Mad Maggie's for a FREE one-scoop cone, on Maggie! Since we've been rained on so many of the past years, this year we'll reserve a rain date of Tuesday, June 19th, just in case. If the weather is questionable, please call to ask us if it's still on.

Per usual, our only requirement to receive the free ice cream is that you be wearing REAL pajamas -- no athletic shorts, sweat pants, t-shirts, etc, even if that's what you normally sleep in. Fuzzy slippers or bathrobes are always a nice finishing touch. Tops AND bottoms please -- don't think that you can leave your pants at home just because we can't see below the counter when you're standing at the window. Believe me, the people behind you in line will appreciate it.

My serving staff has sole authority in determining what is and isn't considered "real pajamas", so if you're really not wearing pajamas, please don't try to weasel a free cone out of them, as they're young and not very good at acting as authority figures.

We'll be taking plenty of photos, and will have a few giveaways for especially creative pajama ensembles, so make sure to break out the ones that you've been saving -- maybe you'll end up on our website or even in the local newspaper.

For the 5th year in a row, I've sent a letter to the Victoria's Secret people, letting them know that their lingerie models are more than welcome to show up and receive their free ice cream (They need to be wearing their pajamas too -- we try to be fair.)

Despite the "Cease and Desist" letter I got back from their attorney, I still suspect that Adrianna, Giselle, and a bunch of their friends will sneak by -- free ice cream attracts lingerie supermodels like Axe body spray in those TV commercials!

And you just know that where Giselle goes, her main squeeze, Tom Brady, will probably show up as well. (No promises, but I doubt Tom would be foolish enough to let Giselle come to the stand alone -- she might be tempted by the hunky boys on my serving team, especially when she spies them in their stylish new Mad Maggie's Summer T's!)

And where Tom goes, well, undoubtedly most of his Patriots teammates will follow.

And if the Patriots make an appearance, of course their cheerleaders will show up too.

And if the cheerleaders are there, the Boston area newspapers will certainly come by to report on them.

And if the newspapers show up, the local TV stations will probably get wind of it and be there too.

And if the local TV stations are there, the national media will show up too.

And if the national media is there, you just KNOW that those publicity hounds, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will be there. (No free ice cream for them though! I saw that "Mr and Mrs Smith" movie of theirs, and boy did it stink, they owe me two hours of my life back!)

Anyway, we sure hope you find the time to come by, share a few laughs, and have a free cone on us! You never know what celebrities you'll end up seeing there.

Flavor News

We had a request on the Guestbook page of our website to start making Blueberry Cheesecake again. With the weather starting to heat up, we're ready for this nice summer flavor, so both Blueberry and Strawberry Cheesecake should be in stock shortly after you read this.

Boston Hill Farms reports that they expect to start picking strawberries next week, so watch for Fresh Strawberry sometime in the next week or so. If you like fresh strawberries, I highly recommend you visit Boston Hill Farm on Route 114 in North Andover in the next couple of weeks to pick your own supply. The picking is usually easy, and they don't weigh you on the way out, so you can sample tons of fresh berries while you pick (just kidding -- try to be fair to them!)

If you want the best selection, get there at 8am, when they open, as the best berries tend to get picked over later in the day. Or, do what I do -- get there at 6:30, and pick until they open! They're usually very understanding of us early birds wanting to pick while it's still cool!

Staff Profile

This week's profile features our graduating high school seniors, and we have quite a crop of them this year!

• Katie T. is one of our North Reading High students, and is in her fourth season with us. I can remember the day she interviewed with us, when she came in wearing her North Reading Cheerleaders jacket, and seemed so young and quiet that I wondered if she'd be able to handle the pressure of dealing with customers. She's exceeded my expectations at every step though, and is now one of my favorites, and has grown into one of our most responsible team leaders.
  
  Katie's cheerleading squad has earned trips to the national cheerleading competition in Orlando, Florida the past two years, and they won their division in 2006. She's planning to attend Stonehill College in the fall.
• Rachel S. is another of our North Reading students. She was brought in by her BFF Katie, and is so quiet and seemed so overwhelmed during her first few shifts that I never thought she'd last. She's really blossomed in her three years with us though, and she's now one of the best on our team -- I just love her to death!
  
  I always say that Rachel has one of the best smiles on the team, and she's definitely one of the most photogenic, as I've never taken a bad photo of her. She's one of the easiest people to work with, I've never heard a single bad word about her from any of the other kids. Still, she's never shy about giving it right back to anyone on the team who teases her.
  
  Despite my protestations that she should go someplace warm, Rachel is planning to attend the University of Maine in Orono, Maine in the fall. (I told her she's going to have to lose a few teeth, buy a ski-doo, and wear a lot more flannel if she wants to fit in with the Maine crowd.) She's promised to stop in frequently over the winter when she's back from school visiting.
• Janae L. is an Andover resident, and a proud graduate of the Greater Lawrence Regional Technical school. This is her fourth year with us, and I was a bit wary of hiring her, as she seemed very quiet when she first applied. (Boy, did I get that one wrong!)
  
  Janae is one tough cookie, as she competed on the boys wrestling team at school, and from what I've heard, more than held her own against what had to be some tough competition. Her squad won the state championship in their division this year. Despite her tough-girl image, Janae cleans up nicely, as I got to join her parents to watch the "Grand March" at her prom this spring, and she was one of the prettiest there!
  
  She's got probably the most important job on our team, as she now manages all of our ice cream production activities, and has a team of two others who she keeps tabs on. I don't think I'd be able to keep the place running without her. (She still can't make Peanut Butter Cup as well as me though...)
  
  Janae is planning to attend the North Shore Community College in the fall, where she wants to study to become a Physical Therapist. But she'll keep working for us, helping us make great ice cream through the winter!
• Lauren P. is a fresh, new graduate of Andover High. This is her second year with us, as she joined us in mid-season last year to pick up the slack from those college students who were leaving us in early summer to start orientations. She's done super work for us in keeping our shifts staffed during the fall and spring.
  
  Lauren is one of our more artistically gifted team members, as I frequently employ her to whip up signs for our special flavors or promotions.
  
  Lauren will be attending Parsons School for Design in New York City in the fall. Hope she doesn't turn into a "New Yawker" on us!

And one other:

• Janelle is our lone college graduate this season, as she got her degree in Criminal Justice from Westfield State college last weekend. Janelle has plans for a career in CJ, but for now, she's back scooping ice cream, at least part time. And we're happy to have her back!
  
  She spent some of her time in college competing on the soccer team, and she's definitely one of our "high energy" team members -- I call her the "Energizer Bunny" of our team.

Congratulations to all of our graduating seniors! We couldn't be prouder of you all!

Newsletter Coupon

OK, here's the deal: Show up at the window of our stand in North Reading, and tell whomever is waiting on you that you want to challenge them to a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" match -- first two out of three wins.

If they win, you have to perform a service for them: Either contribute 25 cents to their tip cup, or else ask them for a clean cloth to wipe down the outside serving counter.

If you win, whomever is serving you will either do an authentic Irish Riverdance for you, OR they'll give you a buck off any ice cream sundae order -- your choice!

Don't be too surprised if the kids don't actually know the dance steps though. I held a training session for them on Saturday morning, and surprisingly, not one showed up. Maybe they already know the steps. I kind of wish someone had shown though, as I sure felt silly out there practicing alone in the parking lot for an hour on Saturday morning.

Oddly enough, shortly after I came inside and changed out of my dancing tights, a van from the state mental hospital came by looking for someone. I sure hope they find that guy...

OK, I think it's apparent to everyone reading this that that's more than enough for this week. Enjoy these last days of spring, and the "official" start of summer, and make sure to say hi if you stop in at the stand.