The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Papa Joe retires, sells truck, biz to ‘Coach Jim’
Folks are remembering 27 summers of ice cream — even Willard Scott
The sound of the truck’s tinkling bell is confirmation the hot, lazy summer days have arrived, along with ice cream.
MADISON » Papa Joe and his vintage Good Humor truck have become synonymous with summers in Madison. The sound of the truck’s tinkling bell is confirmation that the hot, lazy summer days have arrived, along with ice cream for all.
Yet, after serving up treats for 27 years, Papa Joe has reduced his work day to four hours and, as the summer fades into fall, he will retire from a job that has made him into one of Madison’s most popular residents. Many in town may not even know that his full name is Joe Barbato.
“He’s just so perfect for the job,” says former NBC weatherman Willard Scott, a summer resident of Guilford and longtime customer. “He looks like a Good Humor man.”
Back in the day, the 87-yearold put in 10 hour days, working the beaches and neighborhoods, in addition to fitting every lacrosse, Little League, baseball and soccer game into his schedule.
“It’s time to quit,” Papa Joe says. “Twenty-seven years is a long time.”
Papa Joe recently sold the truck and business to long time Madison resident Jim Rinere, the former president and a coach with Madison Youth Lacrosse for years.
Rinere is looking forward to taking on Papa Joe’s Good Humor routes as Coach Jim, a dream he has had since moving to town 22 years ago with his wife, Christine.
“This has been a 22 year dream for me to be able to do what Papa Joe does, so I will probably retire in a couple of years and do this full time, but in the meantime I’ll work the weekends and when I can during the week,” Rinere says.
And Papa Joe’s route is a way to stay connected to the kids he coaches, “... I just love kids and I love to see the passion and help them learn what they can from the game that I love — and so this helps me continue to do that — to help kids in a way that expands my reach outside of just athletics.” Meanwhile, accolades have been pouring in since Papa Joe’s retirement was posted on Facebook.
“Thank you Papa Joe! Sunning on the beach and awaiting the sound of you pulling up! The joy you have given my family and so many more!!! Enjoy your well deserved retirement! Your presence will be missed!” writes Darcy Detels Sordo.
And this from Denni Bernhardt Carroll, “Awww…good for Papa Joe!!! Every time I see him it brings a smile to my face… great memories of ice cream for my kids and then my grand kids!! Thank you, Papa Joe!!!”
Ever present on his rounds is his dog, Bailey, lying in the shade of the dashboard or greeting friendly customers with a wet nose and tail thumping.
The best way to get in the good graces of Bailey is to share a small bite of his favorite Toasted Almond ice cream. Regulars may remember his old four-legged pals, Margaret, Bella and Hope, all Golden Retrievers.
For Scott, Papa Joe’s visits are made that much more special because of Bailey.
“I used to always take his dog a present,” Scott says, in a telephone conversation. “I got a big kerchief, the old cowboy hankie, and I’d tie it around the dog’s neck and he loved to take pictures.”
Scott and his wife, Paris Keena, have invited Papa Joe to their Mulberry Beach Association “Bean Supper” for the last 10 years in Guilford. Late into
the annual picnic, around 7 p.m., Papa Joe drives up to the delight of children and adults alike.
“I used to love to watch the kids, and some of the older people, they love him. It’s like he brought a smile and a little touch of their youth back,” says Scott.
Keena has fond memories of Papa Joe from her days in Madison and wanted to share that with her Guilford neighbors.
“We wanted to do something special so that the kids would have a memory of that to carry through when they were older,” says Keena, reflecting on her youth at her grandmother’s Mulberry Point house.
“We were trying to decide what to do and Willard came up with the idea of getting a Good Humor truck to come every year and we wanted a real Good Humor truck,” she adds.
While he has been driving the same truck for 27 years, it doesn’t go much above 35 miles an hour and parts are hard to come by. With this in mind, he limits his driving to Madison except for the annual Mulberry Point Association picnic, which has remained a perennial favorite.
“I love it, I love him,” says Scott. “He treats us so well. I didn’t know that we were special guests for him. But I’m glad he chose to come see us.”
While Scott says he loves to watch Papa Joe interact with the children, he admits the visit is as much for them as it is for himself.
“I’d always eat my share, because I love Orangesicles,” he admits, laughing.
In addition, Papa Joe has been the star attraction at many local weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, birthday parties and family reunions over the years.
In recent years he has cut back on his workday and focused his trips to select downtown Madison streets filled with children, plus East Wharf and West Wharf beaches.
“I start by going down two or three of my favorite streets,” he says, sitting in a local Dunkin’ Donuts. “I don’t know the names of them. I know how to get there. Parker Avenue is one of them.
“I’ve been going there for 27 years,” he says. “The kids, I’ve seen them grow up, and now the kids have kids and I take care of them.
“They love me and I love them,” he adds.
While Papa Joe is humble about his popularity, he is known throughout town and greeted with a big smile and often a thank you.
At the Dunkin’ Donuts, outfitted in his white collared shirt emblazoned with “Papa Joe” in blue script, a young man offers his appreciation.
“Hey, congratulations, man,” he says, in passing. “Awesome career. You made my childhood. Thank you very much.”
While Papa Joe didn’t recognize him, he says, “I have people coming up to me like that every day. Now this was probably some kid who was four or five years old when I first met him.”
Before buying the vintage truck from a newspaper advertisement, Papa Joe had an interesting and varied life.
The enormous ring he wears on his left hand – a 1948 Hillhouse High School Hall of Fame ring – is a lasting reminder of his hard work on the baseball field and basketball court.
He continued this athletic prowess well after high school, playing professional baseball in the Detroit system for six years.
After baseball, Papa Joe worked for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company before opening his own insurance agency in Branford, Casanova and Barbato.
He raised his family in Orange, including two daughters, Andrea Panullo who owns Madison’s bellaPerlina Jewelry and Linsley Barbato, state of Connecticut assistant attorney general and one son, Joseph, who live in Florida.
It was in retirement, when playing 36 holes of golf a day wasn’t enough to fill his time, Papa Joe answered the ad and bought his 1969 Good Humor truck.
“1969: the moon landing, Woodstock, bell bottom jeans, tie dye shirts, and the last year for the iconic Good Humor truck before the switch the panel vans,” according to Papa Joe’s Good Humor Truck Facebook.
“The odometer stopped working when I bought it,” he says, chuckling.
Two years ago Papa Joe’s dedication has earned him the title of Madison Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. “He just kind of embodies all the good, happy things about Madison,” Executive Director Eileen Banisch told the ShoreLine Times at that time.
Papa Joe has derived tremendous joy from his job and he will miss the daily interactions.
“I’m going to miss the kids, absolutely miss the kids,” says Papa Joe. “I’ll miss their smiles and the look in the eyes when they see me coming.”
Maybe, just maybe, he can convince the new owner that he needs a part-time assistant.
“I’m going to miss it something awful,” he says. “I really am going to miss it.” He hopes that with the new owner, “Maybe I’ll go out with him once or twice a week.”
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