Brain freezes, sticky fingers and sugar rushes—oh, the sacrifices an ice cream addict makes for her dessert of choice. Though the treat has origins overseas, it is such a fixture of summertime in America that in 1984, President Ronald Reagan (also a connoisseur of jelly beans) declared July National Ice Cream Month. In his proclamation, Reagan called ice cream “a nutritious and wholesome food” and summoned Americans “to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities.” And, for those who require more specificity, there’s an Ice Cream Day too, which falls on the third Sunday of the month.
And so it was decreed: Eating ice cream—at least for one month out of 12—is not only an American pastime, but an American duty.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Two young boys eating ice cream, 1939.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMelinda Bennett eating an ice cream cone, 1940. Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDebutantes eating ice cream at an ice cream parlor, 1940.William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA young boy eating ice cream, 1942.Hansel Mieth—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA boy eating ice cream at the Kentucky State Fair, 1944.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA teenage boy in Iowa eating ice cream, 1945.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBusinessman eating ice cream cone outside a drugstore, 1946.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesYoung girl eating ice cream, 1946.Roy Stevens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesBathing suit model eating ice cream by a lake, 1946.Nina Leen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLittle boy eating ice cream on the screened-in porch in Cape Cod, 1946.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesTeenagers eating an ice cream cone together, 1947.Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesKids enjoying ice cream at Linda Vista Shopping Center, 1948.Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesTriplets eating ice cream cones, Robert (L), Sheldon (C) and Ronald (R) Schwartz, 1949.Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesTame lion cub being fed ice cream cone by zookeeper's daughters Janice and Judith Owens who also share their treat with the family dog, at home. A. Y. Owen—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesBalinese dancing girls eating ice cream, 1952.Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCharles, Stephen and Kenneth Winston standing with cartons of ice cream, cones and cookies representing a year's consumption, 1953.George Skadding—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBoy eating ice cream cone at the circus in Madison Square Garden, 1953.Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesTwo women enjoying ice cream cones at Iowa State Fair, 1955.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesA young boy eating an ice cream cone at the local drugstore, 1957.Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAn "Or-bit" sundae in honor of astronaut John Glenn's orbital flight, 1962.Francis Miller—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesChapman College students eating Italian ice cream while participating in four-month educational cruise to Greece and Italy, 1968.Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
