| "Wyatt Earp Eating an Ice Cream Cone"
In 1881 Tombstone, Arizona, was a sophisticated town, as far as rugged
mining camps went. Probably the largest town between St. Louis and
San Francisco, with a population approaching 10,000 souls, one could
eat oysters on the half shell, and wash them down with the finest
French champagne. There was also an ice cream parlor that Wyatt Earp
frequented. (This may seem contradictory to the western myth, but
Earp didn't even drink; he preferred coffee.)
The first mention of ice cream cones (or a waffle type of pastry into
which ice cream could be placed,) first appeared in a 1825 french
cookbook. Variations on this pastry appeared in various cook books in
other countries. The ice cream cone craze hit America in the 1904 St
Louis Exhibition. So the question is, could Wyatt Earp have actually
eaten ice cream out of a cone? I have consulted with many
Tombstone/Earp experts and none of us can arrive at a definite answer.
We just don't know if this ice cream parlor in Tombstone ever carried
cones; the usual way to eat ice cream was out of a small dish.
Yet Wyatt Earp lived until January, 1929, so it is more than likely
that somewhere long the way he did, indeed, eat ice cream from a cone.
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