Isaly's chipped ham, Klondikes celebrated in new historical book

Is there a Western Pennsylvanian who hasn’t eaten Isaly’s chipped chopped ham or sung along to the advertising jingle, “What would you do for a Klondike bar?”

Now they can learn how Isaly’s grew from horse-drawn milk wagons to become the world’s largest dairy storechain in the Senator John Heinz History Center’s newest book, “Isaly’s Chipped Ham, Klondikes, and Other Tales from Behind the Counter.”

The 148-page book, by award-winning author Brian Butko, features more than 400 historic images and illustrations and is now available in the History Center Museum Shop and online store.

To celebrate its launch, the first 500 people to purchase the new book will be automatically entered to win one year of free ice cream, courtesy of Isaly’s. The contest winner, to be announced Dec. 3, will receive coupons good for 24 pints of Isaly’s ice cream.

“Isaly’s stores were once ubiquitous in our area, so I always wondered how the company had become that popular,” Butko said. “I especially wanted to capture the stories of the people who made Isaly’s so successful.”

Art deco storefronts

The company was founded by William Isaly, grandson of Swiss immigrants who settled in 1833 Monroe County, Ohio.

“Generations of Isalys carried on the family trade, expanding from cheese making to dairy farming, and delivering bottled milk from house to house in horse-drawn carts,” according to the company’s website. “Eventually they formed Isaly’s Dairy Companies to sell farm-fresh dairy products and a wide variety of fresh deli meats and cheeses through Isaly’s own chain of retail stores in Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania.”

“When the business moved to Western Pennsylvania in 1931, Isaly’s shiny art deco white storefronts became synonymous with quality dairy and deli foods,” according to a history center release. “One of the keys to Isaly’s success was operating both the dairy plants and their own retail stores that sold everything from ice cream and milk to bread and lunch meats.

“Pittsburghers fell in love with Isaly’s Skyscraper Cones, thin-sliced chipped ham, and (of course) the famous Klondike Bar,” the release said.

“Isaly’s had hundreds of stores in the tri-state area, so they were in most every town or neighborhood. When you traveled and saw one, you knew they’d have Klondikes and chipped ham and Skyscraper cones,” Butko said. “They looked similar, but unlike today’s chain restaurants, each one reflected its town or neighborhood, from lunch recipes that the cook knew to pictures of high school athletes who worked there.”

In addition to his latest work, Butko has researched and written books on the history of Kennywood, Luna Park and the Lincoln Highway, along with other popular history that chronicles Pittsburgh and beyond. Butko serves as the History Center’s director of publications and the editor of its Western Pennsylvania History magazine.

The book on Isaly’s can be purchased for $19.95 plus tax inside the History Center Museum Shop or online at heinzhistory center.org.