Proprietor Steffani Pederson is a one-woman operation, driving her Holstein-themed truck and selling treats from the freezers inside.
Nancy Edmonds Hanson
The tinkling tunes of ice cream trucks were part of the soundtrack of summer in days gone by. To the delight of kids – and their elders – the trucks are back this summer, led by a vehicle painted with Holstein spots that announces itself with a clamorous “moo.”
Chatty Bell’s Treats is one of several four-wheeled vendors of frozen treats cruising the streets of Moorhead, Fargo, West Fargo and surrounding towns, both large and tiny. Shepherded by Steffani Pederson, the treat truck rolls along a more or less random route from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, heralded by the calliope sound of “The Entertainer” interspersed with those moos. You might also find it parked on special occasions at churches, day cares, community celebrations and other spots where hot, sweaty crowds are longing for a chilly sundae or special treat-on-a stick.
“Kids love it,” Steffani asserts. They scramble to catch up with Chatty Bell as the rebuilt 30-year-old vehicle slowly rolls down the street at three or four miles per hour. “There aren’t as many kids playing outside as there used to be,” she observes, “but they still can hear us coming. You can’t hear the music inside your house, but you sure can hear Chatty moo.”
She watches her mirrors closely to spot customers headed her way. “If I see someone running or hear a whistle or a shout, I stop and wait for them,” she explains. “There’s a lot of using my eyes and ears.”
Driving an ice cream truck wasn’t Steffani’s first career. She had worked in home health care and medical transportation in the past, then took a job in corrections with Tri-County Corrections in Crookston – a highly stressful role. “It was such a negative environment. I have a big heart. I care,” she reflects. “I couldn’t recharge my battery on my days off, and it was dragging me down.
“When an inmate told me, ‘You look like you work every day of your life,’ it resonated. I don’t want my job to feel like work. I want to bring happiness and kindness to the world. I want to make a difference and do something that’s fun. This isn’t just a job or a business. It’s a calling.”
Changing directions wasn’t easy. As the single mother of a 19-year-old daughter with severe epilepsy, the 44-year-old needed flexibility along with a way to support Emma, who lives at home and requires 24-hour care.
Her long-held notion of an ice cream truck bubbled to the top. “It’s light-hearted. It’s breezy. It’s fun. It brings smiling people together, especially when I visit small towns,” she says.
She located a broken-down truck sidelined by a plumber in Isanti, Minnesota. Her father Dale, a retired mechanic, was skeptical but supportive. He has helped her from the beginning, getting the elderly vehicle running, contributing a generator and doing electrical work. Then, over several years, she transformed it by herself: “Dad would show me what to do, and then I was on my own,” she laughs.
She dubbed her new enterprise Chatty Bell’s Treats in honor of her daughter. “Emma is the chattiest kid ever. She talks non-stop,” her mother laughs. “She loves all the Disney princesses, but Belle is her favorite.” Emma and her two sons, Jordan and Cordel, also helped inspire the enterprise. “I wanted my kids to be able to participate in a fun job. Emma has five kinds of seizures; she would never be able to work at a traditional job. I wanted her to feel like she was important. And I wanted my older boys, Jordan and Cordel, to have a business that they could run when I retire or leave this earth, whichever comes first.” Jordan works in West Fargo; Cordel cares for Ella during the summer while Steffani is driving Chatty Bell.
When eager treat-seekers gather around the truck, they choose from a selection of treats that’s virtually unique in the area. (Steffani and her father drive six hours each way to purchase them from a closely guarded supplier, hauling a month’s worth of inventory back in a deeply insulated 5-by-8-foot trailer she modified herself.)
She stores her inventory in a commercial freezer in Moorhead. Chatty Bell is fully permitted by the cities she visits – Moorhead, Fargo, West Fargo, Horace, Dilworth and Glyndon, among other – and licensed by the state of Minnesota. The truck is regularly inspected by the state Department of Agriculture and the Fargo Health Department and is certified by the Department of Transportation.
The menu includes ice cream cups in flavors like White Wedding Cake and Truffle Punch, Two Ball Screwballs (with gumballs on the bottom), rainbow snow cones and Icee floats with ice cream. And then there are ice cream pops with personality: Batman, Sonic, the Miraculous Lady Bug, the Sour Wower, Screamers, and bubble gum and cotton candy bars.
She’s especially proud of the line of Rosati products that are exclusive to her in the area. The treats are unique, with names like Mangoeanada and Fruitiki, but that’s not all. The flavored ice cups and bars are entirely allergen free, including soy, dairy and gluten. “Since Emma is on a special diet, I’m really aware of kids with allergies,” she says.
Because of her experience with her daughter, Steffani is especially sensitive to children who aren’t neurotypical and have sensory issues. Does the loud music bother them? She turns the volume down. Do they need extra time? She’s happy to wait. “We want to be a truck that everyone can access.
“I love to see people gather around us having fun,” Steffani reflects. “This world of ours just needs more kindness.”
Upcoming dates: Chatty Bell’s Treats will be at the grand reopening of the Dilworth Walmart Aug. 11 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at Pride in the Park at the Bluestem Center for the Arts Aug. 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Chatty Bell’s Treats has no regular routes; listen for its music and that raucous moo. Special events are often announced on its Facebook page. To book visits to events, contact her via Facebook Messenger, by phone (218-474-1487), or at chattybellstreats@gmail.com
