“Everything here has stayed pretty much the same since it opened in 1949,” says co-owner Darlene Brown, a Carlisle native who bought the business in 1997. The menu has expanded a bit—there are more flavors, plus a few sugar-free and fat-free choices. But Massey’s is a rare and pleasant constant. It’s not bigger, not smaller, no more fancy and no less tidy than the Massey’s you remember. And the custard still tastes like it’s supposed to.

“We’re not open far enough into the school year for Dickinson students to work here or spend a lot of time here,” Brown says. But its inescapable location—across from the Kline Center—makes it as much a part of campus as the Quads or Biddle Field, if only for a few brief and shining weeks.

The rest of the school year, Massey’s is depressingly inaccessible. Well before autumn turns cool, a sign reading “Closed for the Season” is plastered to the front of the building. But for two weeks on either side of summer vacation, there is a small window of opportunity.

Step up, order a split, shake or malt. It’s a brain-freeze delight.