5574-R5_ML&P_LSLA_2018_Web_SummerNewsletter_Web

Ice Cream Boats and Little Sebago Lake: An Illustrious History

polo, a kitschy captain’s hat and an infectious smile, broke onto the scene. For anyone new to the lake, and perhaps for those of you who were asleep from 2010 through 2013, I am, of course, talking about Jake. Jake Viola revived the iconic ice cream boat, and turned it from a Hayes’ family legacy into a Little Sebago Lake legend. His parents donated their aging speed boat (round two of generous parents!) and Jake traded it in for a 1984 24’ pontoon boat that he turned into the single greatest floating restaurant known to man. As a notoriously humble person Jake will be thoroughly embarrassed to read this, but looking back through the memoric lens of my 14-year-old self, none of what I say is an exaggeration. Stocked with the coolest treats, and offering “Jake’s on the Lake” shirts in innumerable colors, Jake made a splash that reverberated through my adolescent skull.

boat wisdom they had into Jake’s wet-behind-the-ears head.

Jake’s on the Lake operated for four years, setting a gold-standard of ice cream boat excellence. However, after graduating from Yale, Jake finally hung up his captain’s hat and decided to move on to his next adventure. While I don’t begrudge him that, his retirement left a gaping hole in the Little Sebago Lake summer experience. Fortunately I was not the only one to realize this. After Jake’s retirement, Beth Urbano of Sunset Cove (and of some relation to Jake I think) bought his boat and set out to maintain the tradition with her daughter Breanna. Together they finished off the 2013 season and kept it up through 2014. That winter they decided to pass the boat on to the next interested party and sold it to Mike Bryant of the Lower Bay. However, all of that was happening unbeknownst to me. Since Jake’s departure, I had been under the impression the lake was ice-cream-boat-less which, as you are all aware, is unacceptable. So, in the spring of 2015, I was finishing up a gap year between high school and college and deciding what I wanted my summer to look like. I was toying with a few options, when my older brother, Mitch, was struck with a Gary- Hayes-esque epiphany. For the past three years he

Jake ran quite a tight ship, offering the highest quality customer service and sweet treats galore. His boat was adorned with colorful pennant banners, large yellow smiley faces on the rear of each pontoon, and plenty of signs announcing his business on the lake. In fact, rumor has it, for his very first year in operation, the sign he used was the same one that graced the Hayes’ boat years before. And, as they did for me during my first year, I’m sure the Hayes’ imparted what ice cream

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