I met Connie at her Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor for the first time as a customer in 2004. I distinctly remember their small first location only having one register, long lines, and feeling the pressure of a small business owner. A second register, better AC, a bigger space were a dream.
Within a couple of years the Brown Cow moved to their current space, an old 1886 showhouse/soda shop. The new Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor became a neighborhood hub for kids’ birthday parties, for quick after meal sweet tooth runs. For post Tee Ball, soccer, softball games.
Around the same time I moved my photography studio out of my house and into a space near her shop. Our families were often crossing paths for chamber events, parades, and festivals. She hired me to take portraits of her family. My family frequented her place for delicious ice cream and the chance to bump into friends and neighbors.
After 25 years of building her business Connie recently sold the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor to two neighborhood couples, who have a plan to take the staple of quality ice cream to new levels through franchising the Brown Cow. The community hub is in good hands.
This Modern Rosie power portrait from 2018 shows Connie looking to her future, holding a cone of two of her favorite flavors under her powerful brand. While Connie has moved on from owning and working on Brown Cow, her economic and community influence will forever be felt.
Photographed August 2018