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SISTER LAKES — A historic local business near and dear to the hearts of many in the Sister Lakes community celebrated a milestone Saturday afternoon.

Driftwood Summer Shop, 94370 County Road 690, celebrated 75 years of business with an anniversary event.

Dozens of friends, family, business associates and guests turned out throughout the day to eat ice cream, drink coffee and take a trip down memory lane. Attractions included face painting, an appearance from Elsa of “Frozen” fame and a raffle.

“We had a great turnout,” said Daniel LaFond, co-owner of Driftwood with his wife, Allison. “We wanted to do something really special for all of our families that visited us every year and (Allison) put together a lot of great attractions for all of our guests. We’ve had a lot of fun today. We’ve had a lot of great families coming in and visiting us for our 75th anniversary.”

The 75-year-old ice cream and memorabilia store was founded in 1948 by Carl and Lucille Timmons. In 2019, the shop was passed from Lorie and Steve VanAntwerp to Allison and Daniel LaFond — the niece and nephew-in-law of the VanAntwerps — after 35 years of ownership. In 2021, the shop celebrated its expansion and renovation which included a full craft coffee bar, a redesigned shopping area and a new arcade space.

Timmons’ son, Dave Timmons, was born in 1947, one year before the shop opened and was on hand for the celebration. He has fond memories of growing up in the shop and is happy to see it continue to serve the community 75 years later.

“My parents built this and I grew up here. I’m glad to see it is still going,” he said. “With (the LaFonds) who have it now, I think it’ll be here for a long time.”

The LaFonds were happy to spend the milestone moment surrounded by the Sister Lakes community members that helped make it possible.

“It’s been a dream business to run,” Daniel said. “I was very turn-key when we bought it five years ago and of course, it’s needed work. The building is 75 years old now and of course, with that comes a lot of maintenance, but it is a labor of love and we do enjoy doing it… It’s really special to us to be able to carry this on for future generations.”