Next to Winthrop, the town where I live, is a village called Wayne. That’s right, we have a Wayne, Maine, and there is even a T-shirt that pokes fun of this rhyming duo. The front reads: Where the hell is Wayne, Maine? Where indeed? The town’s website tells us that Wayne is 15 miles west of Augusta; that Wayne’s population, according to the 2000 census, is 1,112; and that the town is tucked among “seven lakes and ponds.” This area—Winthrop as well as Wayne—is in one of Maine’s lake districts, where it seems as though there is just as much water as there is land.

With its main street lined with lovely old homes, mostly white, its general store, its “two libraries and two churches,” Wayne is a New England village with a vengeance. (By contrast, Winthrop, with its mishmash of new, old, and abandoned, is its shabby cousin.) Quaint certainly is an apt description of Wayne, and its residents have so much pride in their little village that they have come up with a “Seven Wonders of Wayne” list, which includes a desert (I’m not kidding), the village itself, and the Wing Family Cemetery. But for those who like to eat, what is particularly interesting on that list is a place called Tubby’s Ice Cream.

Now, it must be said that even though Maine is cold from October through May, Mainers love their ice cream. All through the state are various Mom & Pop stands, open only during the few warm months that we call summer, and quite often they make their own ice cream. The quality varies from good enough to so outstandingly fine that ice cream lovers dream of certain stands during the long, cold of winter and count the months until they open. Tubby’s, owned by Skip Strong, is one of those stands that Mainers dream of, where the ice cream is so rich and flavorful that most other ice cream is disappointing in comparison. The ice cream is handmade, and Tubby’s website boasts “All of our ice cream, toppings, and food are made right here in our kitchen from scratch. To make our ice cream we use only the finest cream, sugar, eggs, and natural ingredients.” Well, as the saying goes, it isn’t bragging if it’s true, and Wayne residents are quite right to consider Tubby’s one of its wonders.

Of course, with excellence comes a price, and Tubby’s ice cream is not cheap. I must admit that I remember the taste of the ice cream better than I remember the price, but it seems to me that a small cone will set you back at least $3. However, I soon will have ample opportunity to find out just how expensive a Tubby’s ice cream cone is. It seems that Skip Strong is expanding his Tubby’s empire, and Tubby’s is coming to Winthrop, in a building on its not-so-quaint main street.

There’s a lot I don’t know. I don’t know if Skip Strong will be closing his Wayne branch. (My guess is that he won’t.) I don’t know when Tubby’s in Winthrop will be opening. (On a recent walk, my husband, Clif, and I peeked in the windows, and it still seems as though there is quite a bit of work to do.) I don’t know if Tubby’s will be solely takeout, the way it is in Wayne, or if there will be inside seating. So much to discover! So stay tuned for updates, including some of the silly names that Skip Strong has come up with for his flavors. Like the prices, the names, too, are gone from my memory. Only the remembrance of taste remains.

Clif and I don’t go out for ice cream very often, but when we do, it will be at Tubby’s. It is local, it soon will be within walking distance of where we live, and the ice cream is utterly delicious. I can’t wait.

Update: April 29th, 2010—As Mother’s Day is coming right up, I just called Tubby’s in Wayne to find out if they were open. They are and have been since the end of March. I also asked the young woman I spoke to about the shop in Winthrop. The ice cream window is slated to open the end of May, and the indoor secition will open in a couple of months. Sounds like the Winthrop store will be a year-round operation and that the shop in Wayne will continue to be a seasonal business. As I learn more information, I’ll provide additonal updates.