STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS—The W.K. Gordon Center in Thurber, Texas, is offering the opportunity to taste a piece of Texas history. The Gordon Center is hosting a free program on Sun., June 22 at 2:30 p.m.

The program will feature Dorothy McLeod MacInerney, the author of “Blue Bell Ice Cream: A Century at the Little Creamery in Brenham, Texas, 1907-2007.” Copies of the book will be available and free ice cream samples will be served.

A century after it first opened its doors, the “Little Creamery in Brenham” is still going strong. The three-generation-owned business has a colorful and flavorful history.

It all started on a hot summer day when local farmers decided to establish the Brenham Creamery Company and make butter from excess cream. A few years later the creamery began making ice cream and delivering it to neighbors by horse and wagon. In 1930, the company changed its name to Blue Bell Creameries after the native Texas bluebell wildflower.

A lot has changed since the early days. Horse drawn buggies have been replaced with refrigerated trucks and the creamery no longer produces butter.

Although Blue Bell is only available in about 20 percent of the nation’s supermarkets, it ranks as one of the top-three best-selling ice creams in the country.

Tarleton State University’s Gordon Center is located about halfway between Fort Worth and Abilene at exit 367 on Interstate 20. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and closed on Monday. For more information, call (254) 968-1886.