The Igloo Dairy Bar

The Igloo Dairy Bar was owned by John P. Howell during the Green Book era. It appeared in the Green Book from 1963 - 1967 and was listed as “The Igloo Bar---1500 Beatties Ford Road.” The dairy bar was located on the eastern edge of Charlotte’s Washington Heights neighborhood.¹

The Igloo Bar was established by Joseph C. Ramsey in the mid-1950s. The Igloo Bar was a dairy bar that served “ice cream, frozen custard, sundaes, milk shakes, malts and soft drinks.”²

Joseph C. Ramsey lived with his wife, Alma, at 1510 Russell Street, along with their five children. Joseph moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to accept a faculty position in the Sociology Department at Johnson C. Smith University in 1948. By 1955, Joseph was also on faculty at Carver Junior College, where he taught German. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Butler University and completed additional coursework at Yale University and the University of Pittsburgh.³ 

The Ramseys moved to Indianapolis around 1960, where Joseph taught at Indianapolis Public Schools and opened another dairy bar, Frostee Cream Dairy Bar, that operated in the 1960s and 1970s. Alma Ramsey earned a degree from Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis in 1977 and became a prominent educator known for her work with Head Start.⁴

Igloo Dairy Bar’s Green Book-era owner was John Price Howell. Prior to operating the dairy bar John worked as a porter at the Alamo Plaza Hotel in Charlotte. He and his wife, Birdie, lived at 1708 Russell Street.⁵

Today, the building at 1500 Beatties Ford Road that was once the Igloo Dairy Bar is still standing, although the front exterior has been updated.⁶

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2019

Notes

1. Alma D. Green, 1963-1964 Green Book, 57; Green, 1966-1967 Green Book, 57; Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1960 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), alphabetical listing, p. 358; J. Murray Atkins Library, “Historic Charlotte Neighborhoods: Washington Heights,” accessed from https://guides.library.uncc.edu/c.php?g=621704&p=5213318. 
2. Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1957 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), alphabetical listing, pp. 330, 535; Carveran yearbook (Carver Junior College), Charlotte, NC, 1956, digital p. 73, https://archive.org/details/carveran1956carv/page/n72.
3. Carveran yearbook (Carver Junior College), Charlotte, NC, 1956, digital p. 14; https://archive.org/details/carveran1956carv/page/n72; Indiana Central College Alumni News, Indiana Central College, October 1972, digital p. 14, accessed from http://uindy.edu/archives/files/alumni-news/1970-1979/1972-10.pdf; “The Faculty,” Johnson C. Smith University Bulletin, 1958 (Charlotte, NC: Johnson C. Smith University), p. 15, accessed from https://archive.org/details/johnsoncsmithuni24john/page/14;  Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1957 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), alphabetical listing, pp. 330, 535; Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1958 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), alphabetical listing, pp. 389, 627, street directory p. 51; Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1959 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), alphabetical listing, p. 417; Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1960 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), p. 370.
4. Ad, Carveran yearbook (Carver Junior College), Charlotte, NC, 1956, digital p. 73, https://archive.org/details/carveran1956carv/page/n72;“Joseph C. Ramsey Sr.” (obituary), The Indianapolis Star, March 11, 2001, p. 26, accessed from www.newspapers.com; “Alma Ramsey Was Known for Her Work With Children,” The Indianapolis Star, September 30, 1998. P. 37, accessed from www.newspapers.com.
5. Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1960 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), alphabetical listing, p. 358; Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1961 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), city directory, p. 366; Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1962 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), alphabetical listing, p. 481; Hill’s Charlotte (Mecklenburg County, N.C.) City Directory 1963 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Company Publishers), city directory, pp. 494, 511, classified directory p. 250, street directory p. 45; 
   John Price Howell and Berdie Mae Perry, May 24, 1944, Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1969, accessed from www.familysearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPSS-XKFG).
6. “1500 Beatties Ford Road, Charlotte, NC,” Google Maps, www.google.com/maps. The most recent business at this location is a credit counseling service.