PHOTO PROVIDED A staff member holds up a towering cone at Eder’s Ice Cream on Route 87 north of Montoursville. “We have a following all over the United States now,” Tye Sheets said.

Eder’s Ice Cream serves up not only tasty cold treats but a glimpse into yesteryear when life was much simpler.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise given that the business has been passed down in the family through several generations.

“I’m fourth generation Eder’s,” Tye Sheets, who along with his wife Ashley took over the business earlier this year, said.

Bruce Eder, Tye’s great grandfather, started the business in 1927.

He wanted to serve milk and later ice cream and built a small shack next to the present site of Eder’s erected in the 1930s.

Bruce ran the ice cream store until the 1970s and his daughter, Carmen took over.

“She ran it until 2017,” Tye said.

That’s when his uncle and aunt, Rob and Melissa Labatch, assumed control before it came under the ownership of Tye and Ashley.

Tye grew up in the business, sweeping floors and serving up ice cream.

Owning and operating Eder’s, he said, “is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

These days, the business is doing well, according to Tye.

He estimated Eder’s makes about 1,500 gallons of ice cream a week, about two times the amount the business churned out in 2007.

Located along Route 87 several miles north of Montoursville, Eder’s draws customers from nearby and afar.

“We are at a scenic location,” Tye said. “We like being away from town. You get that rural feel.”

Many spring, summer, and fall days and evenings, particularly when the air is warm, can find cars, trucks, and motorcycles parked around the white rectangular building.

It’s not uncommon, Tye said, for people who live out of the area to discover Eder’s and be smitten by its rustic charm.

“We have a following all over the United States now,” he said.

In an age when so much of American business has gone the way of franchising and a cookie-cutter design and approach, Eder’s is simply tradition and has never lost sight of its roots.

Inside the story are displayed vintage machinery formerly used in the ice cream operation.

“Our cooler was built by my great grandfather,” Tye said proudly.

Patrons standing behind the long worn wooden counter waiting to be served can see photos of Bruce Eder and Carmen on the rear wall.

“There is history in this place,” Tye said.

The recipes used were handed down through the family and everything is made on the premises.

Serving up homemade ice cream is what makes Eder’s stand out.

Among the more popular flavors of ice cream is cookie dough.

Eder’s also serves up milk shakes, sundaes, and floats.

The shop stays open through the middle of December before reopening in March.

Like many entrepreneurs, Tye and Ashley have learned some of the challenges of running a business, including the problems tied to obtaining supplies and materials plaguing many operations since COVID-19.

But they seem to have no regrets about taking the plunge into business.

The more than a dozen employees comprise a good team and the couple are doing something they enjoy.

Tye said the smiles on peoples’ faces when they eat ice cream and the whole idea of keeping alive a family business are the rewards.

Spring hours are 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and Sundays 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.