Fishing season. Baseball. Crocuses.

Few things announce the arrival of spring more than the arrival of the above, unless it’s the opening of an ice cream stand. In Newtown, that means April and doors opening at Ferris Acres Creamery on Sugar Street and Holy Cow Ice Cream Shop on Church Hill Road.

This year, unfortunately, those signs of spring are being delayed, like so many other things, thanks to the presence of novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19. In an age where everyone is being encouraged to “Stay Home, Stay Safe” in order to stop the spread of the deadly virus, what do the owners of ice cream stands do? In Newtown, there are two answers to that question.

Mike Coppolla, president of Holy Cow Ice Cream Shop, said recently that the “Gone Fishin’” sign at his ice cream stand will remain in place for at least a few more weeks.

“We’re not opening until April 30 at the earliest,” Coppola said March 31. “There’s too many unknowns right now.” Coppola’s family has been in self-quarantine “for weeks now,” he added.

Situated across the road from St Rose of Lima Church, Coppola said Holy Cow will continue to follow the church’s schedule.

“They’re totally shut down until further notice, and the schools are shut down. They don’t want people gathering together, so it just doesn’t make sense to me,” Coppola added. “My family’s been in the house for weeks now. They haven’t left. If I open the ice cream shop, and have everyone come out right now, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Meanwhile, Coppola has heard that St Rose of Lima School students have been contacting Monsignor Weiss with a very important question.

“He brings them over here every year, they get ice cream, and then he pays for it,” Coppola said. “They’re so afraid they’re going to miss that this year.”

When the Church Hill Road ice cream stand does open, it will be the tenth season for Coppola and his partners. While they “haven’t even talked about special plans for the season,” Coppola said last month, he did say partner Jason Rabitan “is dying to make special flavors to get everyone through this.

“He’s really looking forward to coming up with concoctions to make everybody feel better.”

Creamery Open, Curbside Only

Meanwhile, 2½ miles southwest (as the crow flies), Ferris Acres Creamery (FAC) has adapted its schedule, working with a crew of just 11 family members, and has received approval from the Health District to operate with curbside service.

The Creamery is inviting customers to call in to place orders, and asking for additional patience. There is one phone line into the shop. Those who are working “are answering all calls as quickly as we can,” the business said within an April 8 Facebook post.

When those lucky people get through, though, they have 52 traditional flavors to select from in prepacked pints, and 25 flavors available in prepacked quarts. Five vegan offerings are available, as are Pup Cups and premade Basic Cakes (one layer of vanilla and one layer of chocolate ice cream, divided by a layer of chocolate crunch) in four sizes.

Customers can also arrange for small or large Design-Your-Own Sundae Kits.

FAC Manager Terry Ferris said April 14 that orders and payments have been taken over the phone during the past week, and then receipts are texted to customers.

“We have two tables outside, labeled Table 1 and Table 2, and we’re putting orders out every ten minutes, for safety,” she said. “We take the ice cream out to the table five minutes before an appointed pickup time. That way there’s time between placing the ice cream and the arrival of customers, so no contact whatsoever.”

Those currently working at the stand, she said, are family members.

“As soon as we feel it’s safe, we’re going to work on having some staff do the bags outside, but right now we’re doing just family,” she said. “Safety first.”

The number of orders is limited each day, “to maintain a safe, contactless pickup,” the family noted on its website. The shop is open Monday through Saturday between 11 am and 4 pm. Orders are accepted only during those hours. A limited number of orders are also being delivered to homes on Saturdays, also through advance arrangement. FAC employees will deliver to within five miles of the Creamery, free of charge.

Ferris is happy, she said, that customers have primarily been patient with the current service.

“We had a very busy week,” she said. “We’re adjusting, just like everyone, but it’s going well.”

On the Creamery’s Facebook page, most people have been thankful to the family for their efforts to get the fresh ice cream out to customers. Some mentioned looking forward to the first bite of their favorite flavors, while others mentioned how grateful their entire family would be when FAC ice cream arrived at their home.

Some have taken issue with the struggle to get through on the phone, however. The Creamery has one phone line, so many people are getting the busy signal when they are hoping to place an order. In response, one person offered a great way to look at things.

On April 8, Susan Chymbor posted: “It’s like a flashback growing up and calling the radio stations — busy busy busy but when you get the ring you feel super excitement. I’m waiting for that ring!!!”

Ferris laughed when told about that comment Tuesday morning.

“Oh that’s wonderful,” she said. “We really have great customers.”

Monday’s rain storm knocked power out to the Creamery for a few hours, but a generator installed a few years ago kicked in as expected. The storm knocked the business phone line out, too, which led to another adjustment: following a week of accepting orders only over the phone, customers were allowed to begin sending their requests via e-mail.

“We’re working ahead now,” Ferris said Tuesday morning. “We’re full for today, so we’re filling orders for tomorrow. We’re working a day ahead, which is phenomenal.”

Although the phone-in/curbside service is allowing customers to get their Ferris Acres Creamery ice cream fix, the Ferris family does not consider the 2020 season officially opened.

“We are postponing our official opening day until we are once again able to serve our customers on our patio,” the family posted on the Creamery’s website and Facebook page.

Which means one more thing to look forward to during this very unusual spring.