Great Balls of Powder

by Terry Trahan, Jr.

The Great Depression of the 1930s left American families in a state of uncertainty – jobs could not be found and the nation’s economic structure proved unstable. It was a time when ingenuity trumped traditionalism in the job market. To get ahead of the competition, men had to develop new ideas and move them from the drawing board to the workplace.

Ernest Hansen did just that.

In 1934, he revolutionized the concept of the snowball in the Big Easy. Hansen invented the first ice-shaving machine, the Sno-Bliz, producing fine ice not found in snow cones around the rest of the country. A former machinist and draftsman, he developed the stainless steel machine to improve the unsanitary snowball practices of his time.

Hansen and his wife opened their own snowball stand on Tchoupitoulas Street, attracting children and adults who enjoyed the homemade syrups and ice cream-filled afternoon treats. Two pennies bought a snowball, leading to long lines of New Orleanians waiting patiently for a luxury amidst hard times.

Following Hansen’s lead, George Ortolano found his way into the snowball business.

A grocer from New Orleans, Ortolano noticed the popularity of the snowball in the city and worked to get the treat into his stores. In 1936, he, too, produced a machine that took large blocks of ice and shaved them down to a fine powder. Ortolano diverted his attention to World War II when called upon to put his mechanical skills to work, but he returned to his SnoWizard invention after the war.

The grocer received calls from other businesses interested in buying the machines for their stores, so he left the grocery industry to focus on manufacturing his brand of ice shavers. Nearly 75 years later, Ortolano’s family continues the tradition by selling the SnoWizard ice-shaving machine to snowball stands around the world.

Today, the economy faces an uphill battle just as it did in the 1930s, and the snowball continues to be an affordable snack enjoyed by children and adults alike. Snowball stands pop up in neighborhoods across the country, providing a tasty relief to the summer heat.

In April, Brandon Champagne opened his own stand, Champs Snowballs, next to Castalano’s Deli in Houma. The snowball entrepreneur offers fine, powdery snowballs in the tradition of Hansen and Ortolano, but with a twist.

“The way I do it is the old-fashioned way,” he says. “What makes a snowball great is the simple syrup.” The process requires the boiling of water to mix the sugars, creating syrup with that special taste.

Brandon also distinguishes his snowballs by the ice’s texture.

“A snowball is that fine white powder like snow that falls out the sky,” he says. To achieve the fluffy effect, Brandon stores the ice between 5 and 10 degrees for 24 hours.

He knows that perception has a lot to do with what makes a great snowball.

“A kid just wants a color,” Brandon says. “Adults notice when a snowball is too dry.”

They also notice the attention to customer service that sets Champs apart from the others. There is no extra charge for syrup, and a loyalty card rewards frequent buyers with a free snowball on the 10th purchase. Parents appreciate these details when they now have to reach far deeper than two pennies into their pockets to buy the icy treats.

“It’s that little bit extra that goes a long way,” Brandon says.