Image: L. Gomes / PML / Darrell Ralph is the owner/operator of Frankly Delicious Ice Cream.

By Laurice Gomes

Community

Chilliwack man melting hearts with his ice cream cart

Aug 13, 2022 | 6:00 AM

CHILLIWACK — Darrell Ralph sat on his mobility scooter, with an ice cream cart attached to it, as he watched people enjoying the sunshine at the spray park in Sardis on Friday afternoon (Aug. 12).

In a crisp white shirt, a red and white striped vest, and a red hat that reads “Frankly Delicious Ice Cream”, Ralph is more than a sharp dresser—he is now Chilliwack’s iconic ice cream man.

“I worked on trying to put this together for quite a few months, and then worked with the City of Chilliwack,” he said of his newly established business. “I started over the winter. I decided I wanted to do something this summer, something positive for the community.”

Ralph saw an ice cream cart for sale online and thought the idea would be “neat”. However, because he uses a mobility scooter, there was work to be done to switch the bicycle on the cart to his scooter.

“I spent a lot of months researching, trying to figure out what to do and how to do it,” Ralph said. “So, I took the bike off, and I got a tow bar that they used for towing toboggans across the ice behind snowmobiles and modified it.”

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He then designed a drop down hitch out of wood and had a professional welder to weld it up for him.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Ralph said the community has been extremely supportive towards him.

“This umbrella is from the east coast in New York, they use it for lifeguards,” he said, pointing to the bright red umbrella. “I thought I needed something that’s going to stand up to the wind; and it’s all the way from New York, Rhode Island actually.”

Ralph used a Cricut machine (an electronic cutting machine) to make the lettering on the umbrella as well as the lettering on his hat.

“I stuck it on and heated it on myself,” he said, beaming with pride.

The cheerful ice cream man said when he first started out in June, he had battery problems with his scooter; that’s when a lady from Discount Mediquip in Chilliwack offered to help.

“She gave me batteries at cost and sent a gentleman to my house who took my scooter apart and put new batteries in at no charge,” he said appreciatively. “And this is what the community has done for me.”

Ralph said the community has been extremely supportive towards him, proving why he wanted to sell ice cream in the first place. He added that “pay it forward” is also a trend, where people purchase ice cream in advance for others who might not be able to afford it.

“Thank you for all the support; it’s been incredible,” he remarked. “I have people honking at me all over this town. I have people waving at me out the window. I have people giving me the thumbs up. This is a pretty cool town.”

Darrell Ralph, who provides ice cream with a smile, can be reached via email at ddwoody4@hotmail.com.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Darrell Ralph can be emailed at ddwoody4@hotmail.com.