The Ice Cream Scoop and Alfred L. Cralle Even though ice cream has been around for centuries and no one can be credited with its invention, thanks to Alfred L.Cralle, getting the frozen dessert out of the container became much easier. Alfred L. Cralle was born September 4, 1866 in Kenbridge, Virginia and attended schools in his community. After completing normal school, he worked with his father in the carpentry trades and showed interest in how things worked. His further education was at the Wayland Seminary in Washington, DC founded by the American Baptist Home Mission Society to educate Black people after the Civil War. When he moved to Pittsburgh, he worked as a porter in the Markell Brothers Drug Store and St. Charles Hotel. Cralle noticed that while ice cream had become a popular confection, it stuck to spoons and ladles so was difficult to serve. Often it required two sets of hands and multiple implements to get from container to serving dish. He set about coming up with a way to change this. What he showed to the Markell Brothers looked like a wooden stick with a metal cone on top which they did not think would work. He purchased a container and bowl, set them on the counter and demonstrated the new invention. Originally known as an “ice cream mold and disher”, Cralle’s invention was designed to keep the ice cream from sticking and be easy to use with one hand. He made more scoops using different inexpensive materials for the cone. This strong, inexpensive to make, effective device allowed ice cream to be served faster, with less effort and more hygienically.