With the sweet smell of freshly mowed grass in the air and the warm air currents slowly breezing by, the warm weather brings to mind the ideas of summer softball leagues, skinny-dipping in the neighbor’s pool and, most importantly, snowballs.Snowballs are nothing more than shaved ice with a colored flavoring poured on top, yet these sweet treats have been around since 1937. New Orleans, like the rest of the country, was no stranger to snowballs during the Great Depression in 1936. Many businesses were failing and others were willing to try anything to keep a steady income.

Snow cones, an inexpensive treat, became available at most grocery stores but consisted of “rough, crunchy ice crystals” according to SnoWizard, the leading supplier of snowball machines and supplies in the New Orleans area. However, George Ortolano wanted to stand out and make his shop different from all the rest. After Ortolano noticed a large group gathering around a snow cone business, he went to work in his garage to create a better snow cone machine. The results were the “fine, fluffy shaven snow” we have come to know as snowballs today.

Snowball stands have become a very popular item since their re-invention. In fact, there are over 20 different stands from here to Grand Isle on Highway 1 alone. One interesting fact is that some southern universities either have a full time snowball stand or have a student organization that once a year puts on a snowball day. Our very own Nicholls offers us this pleasure every year at Crawfish Day, sponsored by the Student Programming Association.

Today, there are roughly 120 different flavors that can be used as topping for these cold, summer treats. While these flavorings are little more than sugar, water, artificial flavoring and a preservative, they are really the only reason why someone would consent to paying upwards of $4 to $5 for a cup of crushed ice.

With 16 different flavors based on alcohol or alcoholic drinks alone, not to mention all the other flavors, it seems almost sinful the possible number of snowballs you can have before repeating a flavor. The number actually is in the billions when you start using combinations of flavors. However, with some flavors like licorice and dill pickle, mixing these with others might present more of a lack of palate than highly developed unique taste buds.

So I encourage everyone to take a trip to their local snowball stand and get snowballing.