Aunt Stelle’s Sno Cone

by Paula Bosse

aunt-stelles_sign_googleAn Oak Cliff oasis…

by Paula Bosse

This has been a brutally hot summer. The kind of summer when a snow cone would really hit the spot at just about any sweltering hour of the day. One place that was famous for its snow cones (they were described as being like “fine snow”) was Aunt Stelle’s Sno Cone, at 2002 W. Clarendon (at Marlborough) in Oak Cliff. Established by Estelle Williams in 1962, the little stand was hugely popular until it officially closed in 2018. Her snow cones were flying out of there every summer season for more than 55 years! To generations of customers. Not many businesses can boast that kind of longevity and patron loyalty. (One of those loyal patrons was Oak Cliff homeboy Stevie Ray Vaughan.)

Having not grown up in Oak Cliff, I wasn’t familiar with Aunt Stelle’s until I saw the photos below which appeared as ads in editions of the Sunset High School yearbook. You can see Estelle in the window. She looks exactly like the kind of person I’d want serving me a delicious, refreshing, messy treat.

aunt-stelle_sunset-high-school-yrbk_1967-det

Speaking of the treats, check out that menu board! I understand the “Beatle” tasted like a grape SweeTart, the “Zorro” tasted like licorice (and it was black!), the “Pink Lady” tasted like vanilla ice cream, and the “Popeye”… I really wanted it to be green and taste like spinach, but apparently it tasted like gumballs (what a missed opportunity!).

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summer_aunt-stelles-sno-cones_sunset-high-school_1967-yrbk._b1967 Sunset High School yearbook

summer_aunt-stelles-sno-cones_sunset-high-school_1967-yrbk1967 Sunset yearbook

summer_aunt-stelles-sno-cones_sunset-high-school_1968-yrbk1968 Sunset yearbook

summer_aunt-stelles-sno-cones_sunset-high-school_1969-yrbk1969 Sunset yearbook

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Sources & Notes

Top image of the Aunt Stelle’s sign is from Google — the photographer is listed simply as “Scott.”

A great story about Aunt Stelle’s can be found in the Dallas Morning News archives in the story “Sno Days: Aunt Stelle’s Has Been Keeping Oak Cliff Cool for 40 Seasons” by Dave Tarrant (DMN, June 22, 2001).

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aunt-stelles_sign_google

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Copyright © 2023 Paula Bosse. All Rights Reserved.