Willis Elementary staff screams for ice cream

Childhood nostalgia melted into Robert E. Willis Elementary Tuesday when the ice cream truck pulled into the parking lot.

Teachers and staff trickled in and out of the doors, tickled at the idea of getting to pick out a favorite of their youth — Klondike bars and bomb pops and ice cream sandwiches — as part of the Staff Appreciation Week treats that the Staff Appreciation Committee of the PTO had organized. The PTO got community sponsors to help give the school’s staff free lunch, too. Moricz and Varone Orthodontics sponsored the ice cream.

Tasha Muhammad couldn’t make up her mind as she walked up to the truck, looking at all the options.

“This is just like when I was a kid — so many choices,” she said.

The staff member couldn’t wipe the grin off her face as she debated between her choices. Ultimately she picked out a Klondike bar for later and a Tweety-shaped ice cream bar to eat right away.

“That’s part of the novelty of doing this — bringing back those memories,” said Tanya Harrison, the owner of the White Pony Ice Cream Truck.

Harrison’s father started the truck 30 years ago, and several years after Harrison took over. She’s been driving the truck for 27 years now, and has a route through the neighborhoods in eastern Sarasota.

“I’m working on three generations in some places,” she said. “My kids say I can’t go anywhere without people saying ‘It’s the ice cream lady!’”