Selma's Ice Cream Parlour to be sold

startribune.com

What's believed to be the oldest ice cream parlor in Minnesota will be sold in the aftermath of a public dispute over its renovation and the subsequent death of owner Joe Farrington.

Selma's Ice Cream Parlour in the southern Washington County city of Afton closed abruptly in early August when Farrington committed suicide after protracted negotiations with the City Council and the state Department of Natural Resources over his development plans for the building, which dates to the Civil War.

"I'm looking for a buyer or buyers with the same love for this wonderful community and passion for this business that Joe embraced," his widow, Dawn Farrington, said today.

I have fond memories of Selma's Ice Cream Parlour. As a kid growing up in Southern Washington County, my 4-H Club often played softball in the park across from Selma's. At least twice a year, when going to my God Parent's Island cabin on Balsam Lake, our family stopped for ice cream. As recently as this summer, while biking, I stopped for a scoop of Raspberry ice cream in a waffle cone.

To me, Selma's is a Minnesota Institution.

Selma's is right on the St. Croix river, and has survived many floods, and other natural disasters. It would be a shame to have it shut down because of government bureaucracy.