More Than Ice Cream: Inside The Heartwarming Mission Behind The Ice Shack
By Emily Wright
MILL HALL—-To know the Ice Shack is to love the Ice Shack— and chances are, if you’ve eaten there once, you’ve been back again, and perhaps countless times after that. For nearly two decades, the business has been a cool haven for dessert lovers passing through Mill Hall. Managed by Dwight Martin, the seasonal ice cream shop operates to support the Bald Eagle Boys Camp, blending sweet treats with a heartfelt mission. With the Ice Shack approaching its 20th anniversary next year, The Record spoke with Martin to learn more about the shop’s beginnings, its underlying mission, the challenges it has encountered, and its plans for the future.
Martin, originally from Georgia, moved to the area in 2013. His journey to the Ice Shack began with a rural upbringing on a farm, followed by eight years working at his uncle’s bakery in Georgia, where he eventually became a part-owner. “I’ve always enjoyed making food, even as a kid,” Martin shared. His brother’s long tenure as a director at the Bald Eagle Boys Camp, spanning nearly 20 years, paved the way for Martin to step into the manager position when the camp sought new leadership.
The Ice Shack opened in 2006, and its operating season initially ran from April through October. In response to growing popularity and demand, the shop extended its season by two months in recent years and now serves customers from March until the week before Thanksgiving.
The connection between the Ice Shack and the Bald Eagle Boys Camp is at the heart of the business’s purpose. The idea for the ice cream shop was born when board members of the boys’ camp were brainstorming ways to raise funds for the program and decided an ice cream shop would be a creative solution—thus, the Ice Shack was born.
The Bald Eagle Boys Camp provides a therapeutic program for boys aged 12 to 15, many of whom have faced difficult circumstances. The camp focuses on promoting emotional growth, group accountability, and helping the boys recognize how adverse life experiences shape their behaviors. The core mission is to look beyond outward behavior and address the boys’ underlying attitudes and values while also meeting their emotional, physical, and spiritual needs.
The camp follows a group model made up of ten boys and two counselors, known as “chiefs,” who work together on daily tasks such as preparing meals, splitting wood, repairing tents, developing life skills, and learning healthy ways to process emotions. According to Martin, the therapeutic process unfolds through these everyday activities. He explained the group’s approach to problem-solving: “When we run into a problem, we stop what we’re doing as a group and figure it out together,” he said. “We do everything in the woods, and that’s kind of our therapy— it’s connecting the boy’s heart with his actions.”
Profits from the Ice Shack directly support this mission, which resonates with many customers. “The locals know why we’re here, they know we support the camp, and people feel good about supporting a business with a higher goal,” Martin said.
The Ice Shack has built a reputation for its blend of homemade and carefully sourced, high-quality menu items. Martin emphasized that the ice cream base is of exceptional quality, noting, “We’re picky about our ice cream because it’s what we’re known for.” The Italian ice, soft pretzels, and rotating soups and sandwiches are all made in-house. Customers are often willing to wait 35 to 45 minutes for their treats—proof of the shop’s strong appeal. Whether it’s the creamy ice cream, freshly made pretzels, or the satisfaction of supporting a meaningful cause, the Ice Shack has established a unique niche in Clinton County.
Martin described their Italian ice-making process, which begins with a sugar and water syrup base. The base is then blended with a variety of flavors—some made with real fruit and others using artificial flavors—and churned in a batch machine. After churning, the Italian ice is frozen in large batches and then served to customers. Some staple flavors include blue raspberry, mango, cherry, cotton candy, root beer, and orange. To keep the menu exciting, Martin regularly experiments with new flavors, such as piña colada, and offers them on rotation to see what customers enjoy the most.
When it comes to choosing ice cream flavors to offer, Martin says they’ve gotten to know customers well enough over the years to know exactly what to offer to satisfy their pallets. Some flavors rotate from the menu and are offered roughly four times each season, and others remain permanent fixtures due to their popularity. While tea berry and peanut butter tend to dominate all other flavors, other popular options include black raspberry, coffee, chocolate and vanilla twist, and of course, Shack Storms that combine your choice of ice cream with toppings blended in. When asked what his favorite flavor is, Martin shared that his personal pick is black raspberry ice cream topped with fudge— a flavor combination that’s tough to beat. In the coming months, customers can look forward to orange dreamsicle, maple walnut, and a strawberry parfait made with locally grown strawberries when they’re in season.
In its early days, building a customer base was a challenge for the Ice Shack. “It doesn’t have the big name brand like McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts. At McDonald’s you kind of know what you’re going to get when you go there, but when you see a sign out front and it’s called the Ice Shack, it makes you wonder what’s going on there,” Martin explained.
Without a widely recognized name, the business initially struggled to draw in customers. However, the introduction of homemade soft pretzels to the menu proved to be a game-changer. “From years four and five on, our customer base has steadily grown almost every year,” Martin shared. The COVID-19 pandemic posed another major challenge, but Martin credits the Ice Shack’s survival to strong community support, loyal customers, and, as Martin puts it, “God’s blessing” on the business. Thanks to these factors, the Ice Shack managed to retain its large customer base, and during the opening week as COVID restrictions lifted, lines of patrons once again stretched through the parking lot, just as they had in previous years.
The Ice Shack operates with a small team: Martin, an assistant, and a group of girls who volunteer each season. This year, seven girls are volunteering—three from Pennsylvania and the rest from other states—each motivated by their desire to support the Ice Shack’s mission. In return for their work, they receive free room and board along with a small monthly stipend. Each season brings a new group of volunteers who help keep the business running.
“While they’re here, they’re benefitting the camp. They’re raising our overall income by being a volunteer and contributing in that way,” Martin explained. However, he stressed that the purpose of the Ice Shack goes far beyond generating a profit; the primary goal is to support the boys’ camp, and as he describes it, to “be a light in the community.” The girls who volunteer each season are essential to fulfilling that mission. Every day before opening, the team gathers for a morning prayer circle, keeping their faith and the business’s purpose at the forefront of their work.
When asked about goals or achievements the business has seen since its establishment, Martin emphasized that, unlike most small businesses, The Ice Shack isn’t overly concerned with the bottom line. “That’s not us, that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to be a light to the community and to serve good food, those things are true, but we’re there to help the boys camp function, and that’s been the case for the last 18 to 20 years,” he said. “That’s the achievement we’re after.” Martin added that while making a profit matters, it’s not the main purpose of the business, faithfully stating, “We leave that in God’s hands.”
“It’s pretty amazing that we’ve been here 20 years,” Martin said. “I still point point back to blessings from God— keeping things afloat, even through COVID, and allowing us to continue to operate all these years, and finding staff each year, sometimes that can be a hurdle. So, God has blessed us.”
The Ice Shack maintains a 4.8-star rating on Google and a recommendation rate of over 90% on Facebook. When asked what he credits this success to, Martin pointed to both the quality of their food and their customer service. “I think it’s good food that gets people in here and that makes them return,” he said. “And I also think it’s the atmosphere and the staff. They know why they’re here; they’re here to serve people, and we serve people with a good attitude and a smile,” he said. Martin emphasized that even when faced with long lines at the end of a busy shift, the girls remain pleasant and welcoming— something he believes customers recognize and appreciate.
Looking ahead, Martin’s goals for the Ice Shack remain firmly rooted in the overall mission: to continue supporting the Bald Eagle Boys Camp through the business and to serve as a light in the community. The shop’s continued popularity suggests that this approach is likely to endure. For Martin, true success isn’t measured in profits, but rather in the lasting impact of the camp. “The important thing is the reason why the Ice Shack is here, and I want to give glory to God for the success we’ve had for 20 years.”
For updates on the latest ice cream flavors, Italian ice varieties, soups, and more, follow the Ice Shack on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/IceShack/.
Hours of operation:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Saturday: 11:30 AM – 9:00 PM
Sunday – Closed
The Ice Shack is located at 104 N. Water Street, Mill Hall, PA 17751.
