A Tribute to Dorothy Vickers-Shelley

Here's a trivia question for you. A Boston Cooler is an ice cream drink made from Vernor's ginger ale and vanilla ice cream. The drink originated in Detroit, where James Vernor introduced the soft drink and later opened the company's bottling plant and headquarters. If the Boston Cooler originated in the City of Detroit, why is the drink called a Boston Cooler?

The above inquiry was a reference question I received at The UFL reference desk over ten years ago. The question came from Yankee Ridge Elementary school librarian Dorothy Vickers-Shelley, who I met on my first day of employment at the library in 1989. A tall woman with a commanding presence, she stepped up to my workstation at the circulation desk, looked directly at me and asked in her eloquently deep voice, "And you are?” In a fleeting moment of options that included running in fear, I decided to offer my hand and introduce myself. Clearly, I had made the correct choice, because Mrs. Vickers-Shelley squeezed my hand and smiled. Not just a passive smile—but a wide, genuine, and warm smile that let me know she was sincerely happy to make my acquaintance.

Dorothy Vickers-Shelley passed away on July 24, 2009. She was a much-loved and well-respected school librarian in USD #116 for 33 years. She enjoyed not just teaching and sharing her passion for learning with her students, she also respected and was fond of those she taught. Children who knew Mrs. Vickers-Shelley flocked around her at the library and she would address each one by name, making all feel as if they were special. Those of us at The Urbana Free Library who knew Mrs. Vickers-Shelley remember her love of books and her endless cascade of very interesting and incredibly puzzling reference questions.

Returning to the Boston Cooler question—the drink was named after Boston Boulevard in Detroit, where it is rumored the first Vernor’s headquarters may have been located. When the answer to Mrs. Vickers-Shelley Boston Cooler query was delivered to her, she was so appreciative she presented the staff of the library with a do-it-yourself Boston Cooler kit—a 6-pack of Vernor’s Ginger Ale and a gallon of vanilla ice cream.

Thank you for the memories, Mrs. Vickers-Shelley—for sharing your inquisitive nature with us, for testing and honing our library skills, and for the Boston Cooler.

Life is short ... therefore I shall be a crusader in the fight against ignorance and fear, beginning with myself...Dorothy Vickers-Shelley