interested in ice cream and decided to experiment with flavors.

During this time, Jerry decided to pursue pre-med at Oberlin College, which was unsurprising given his interest in medicine and his hardworking nature. During his time in college, he worked as an ice cream scooper in the university cafeteria. Jerry had hoped to get into medical school after graduating from Oberlin in 1973. However, he failed twice to get into medical school, at which point he gave up and moved to North Carolinawith his future wife to be a lab technician.

Small Steps to Ice Cream Creation

Jerry moved back north to New York in 1976, where he and Ben discussed the possibility of opening and operating a business. They thought of possibly opening a bagel shop, but decided that itwould be more feasible to open an ice cream shop because ice cream equipment was significantly cheaper than for a bagel shop. Ben and Jerry then split the cost of a $5 correspondence course in ice-cream making to learn more about the art of ice cream fromPennsylvaniaStateUniversity’s Creamery. Armed with $12,000 of investment money of which $4,000 was borrowed, they went on a search to find the perfect location to open their ice cream shop. They eventually settle onBurlington,Vermontsince it was a small, warm-weathered college town that lacked any ice cream shops. On May 5, 1978, they opened up their small ice cream shop in a renovated gas station.

It was a hit. The college students loved their ice cream and people would crowd around the store, waiting for