The fiberglass cow adorning Salvador’s Ice Cream became “Smith Neck Nellie” in 2006—the first full year Len and Beth Gauvin ran the shop on Smith Neck Road. Ten years later, the couple still owns the iconic ice cream stand, and have spent the past few months sprucing up the milk can for its 80th birthday this year.

Len, a teacher at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, spent April vacation repainting. The can's silvery color was suggested by George Salvador, son of the original owner Augustine Salvador.

“We tried to bring it back to original,” said Len. Even the font was reproduced from an ad they had found in a 1930s phonebook. “The font didn’t actually exist. We had to have it digitized,” said Beth.

Although the can itself mimics an earlier time, much has changed about the property. The ice cream stand formerly paired with 70 cows and an on-site dairy factory, which the Gauvins have turned into their home.

“The noise in there was enormous,” said Salvador, who was a child when his parents ran the property.

His mother Lillian had studied how to make homemade ice cream, but vanilla is still his favorite, said Salvador. “I think for flavor, it was better in the '30s.”

Without the manpower or resources to make ice cream, the Gauvins sell Gifford’s brand. Salvador said his family would travel to Rhode Island to buy peaches for one of their 12 flavors. “I don’t think people would do that today,” he said.

Salvador’s fading memory hinted at his age, despite his refusal to give it, but he recounted in detail how his father was a fair and likeable man. His employees called him “boss” and his friends called him “Gus.”

“He could put five cones in his hands without crushing them,” he said. “He gave sizeable cones. My mother, she was very gracious too.”

Augustine had inherited the farm and milk trade from his father Joseph Salvador Sr. He purchased the milk can with his wife, and moved it from Fort Rodman in New Bedford to its current location in 1935.

“That was fascinating, seeing that big, huge thing crossing the bridge," said Salvador.

They were going to get through the Great Depression by selling ice cream, said Salvador, relaying his father’s message to struggling neighbors through watery eyes. “He said ‘If you need [milk], I’ve got it for you.’”

The family continued running the shop until the mid-'60s, when Gus retired due to illness. After Gus’s death in 1970, Lillian’s nephew Ray Brassels Jr.—who now lives in Florida—bought the business and painted it black.

"I was shocked at that. So was my mother," said Salvador.

In 2005, the Gauvins bought the property. After redoing the can’s foundation, adding new windows, and painting, they opened in August 2005.

"We’re open rain or shine," said Beth. "In the 11 years, we’ve closed twice. Once was in a hurricane."

Salvador’s will reopen on May 27 at 5 p.m., and stay open for Memorial Day weekend. Once the school year ends, Salvador’s will open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The couple plans to throw a party mid-summer to celebrate the can’s 80th birthday, but aren’t sure yet what that will entail.

The Dartmouth natives sell 22 flavors, including originals like frozen pudding and buttercrunch, with a 15-person staff.