SYCAMORE – As Abby Kiley waited at the second window for her custard dish, she looked at the ground where she stood and saw the large, round, mustached face of the local icon painted on the bricks.
"Who's Ollie?" the 9-year-old asked to no one in particular. "Is he real or not?"
As Ollie's Frozen Custard celebrated 25 years in the community on Saturday, it was easy for area residents – young and old, native and new – to reminisce about the summertime staple.
"It's just the atmosphere; it's a hometown place," said Abby's dad, Patrick Kiley, of DeKalb as he licked the vanilla oozing down the side of his waffle cone. "Ollie's – it's a part of summer."
The line during the Saturday afternoon anniversary celebration wrapped around the side of the turquoise-lined building, which is no larger than a shed and keeps its customers served with a walk-up window – no drive-through. But most of the activity was happening in the grassy lot in the back of the property.
That's where Diane Hanson of Yorkville and Lavon Nehring of Sycamore were found, sitting beneath a tree after they had finished their dessert. The women, both 56, were taking in the scenery around them – the face painting, the prize giveaways and the music.
Hanson was glad the DJ was playing oldies tunes, as it brought back good memories, she said.
"When we'd come up here to Farm and Fleet, we'd always have to stop at Ollie's," Hanson said.
Other fans of the custard are newer in town, but quickly adapted to the longstanding local tradition.
When the Vidales family was planning to move to Sycamore five years ago, they were told to come to Ollie's before they had even moved in.
"It was on our list of things to do when we first got here," said Rachel Vidales, who was eating there Saturday with her four kids.
The best part for her comes at the end – the malted milk balls at the bottom of the waffle cones.
"You think you're done and you get this bonus at the end," she said.
Eleven-year-old A.J. Vidales said the people are "really nice" and that he likes the toppings, especially butterscotch.
Amanda Vidales, 17, has made it a tradition with the Sycamore High School band to go to Ollie's after all the home football games, she said.
The lines on opening day – with customers often bundled in coats and wrapped in scarves as they wait in line – are a sight worth seeing.
"You look forward to its opening in February and are sad when it closes in October," said Sherry Massey, of Sycamore.
And just as customers are loyal to the business, they have unmatched loyalties with particular flavors.
"My husband, Michael, comes at least twice a week and he loves the strawberry banana blast," Massey said. "I'm pretty much a vanilla girl myself."
And what makes Ollie's special to its owners, Joe and Valerie Cranden?
All of the above.
"It's so important to the community; that's what makes it so important to us," Joe Cranden said. "It's nice to see families come out with happy faces in these rough times."
His wife, Valerie, began working at the shop 20 years ago, as a junior at Sycamore High School. The Sycamore native worked her way up, eventually purchasing the business in 2000.
The Crandens thanked their customers and said they plan to keep Ollie's going as is, with the same recipes and with a staff they praised for making the frozen treat that much more enjoyable.
When asked about the next 25 years, Valerie Cranden laughed.
"Our kids (ages 2 and 6) can run it then."
And as to Abby Kiley's question about the round-faced, jolly Ollie: The previous owner, Bill Jamison, resembles Oliver Hardy of the comic duo Stan and Ollie, the Crandens said.
And that face will likely remain embedded in the community for awhile.
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