A cool breeze buffeted the ancient trees on the grounds of San Juan Bautista Mission, a welcome respite from the hot South Valley temperatures.
\nDirectly across the street, the Margot\u2019s Ice Cream Parlor sign swayed lazily in the gentle wind. A homemade notice on the screen door read, \u201cClose the door. The air conditioner is on.\u201d
\nSmall touches like a screen door bearing a hand-lettered sign carries one back to a foregone time, a tender reminder of when life wasn\u2019t so fast-paced. Or\u00a0as complicated.
\nInside the spacious shop with its pretty pink walls, two ice cream freezers spanned one wall while a collection of tables and chairs dotted the wooden floor. Old-fashioned \u201cpenny candy\u201d type treats were available for sale, but it\u2019s the homemade chocolates and enticing ice cream that draws visitors inside.
\nCone choices range from the familiar crispy cone to waffle cones enrobed in rich chocolate. For the less adventurous, ice cream can be had in a cup. The owner, Margot Tankersley, treated me to a scoop of scrumptious Kauai Pie ice cream atop a
\nsugar cone.
\nMargot and I met 19 years ago. A young, single mom of then 7-year-old Kayla, Margot had recently moved back to her hometown of Hollister to begin a new life. Back then, life revolved around a grueling course in Salinas to become a
\nlicensed esthetician.
\nWe were brought together in our small class of aspiring estheticians. A recent empty-nester, I recall this time as my \u201cEarth Mother\u201d phase. Despite the 18-year difference in our ages, Margot and I clicked immediately. I found her to be a perfect delight.
\nI soon learned that Margot is a girl with boundless energy. Graduating before the rest of us, she was soon building her skin care clientele in Hollister.
\nBut that was just the beginning.
\nWhile still in esthetician school, Margot was perfecting the art of candy making\u2014specifically her own chocolate truffles in many wonderful varieties dubbed Kayla\u2019s Kandies. Carrying her little basket of delectable chocolates to class, she soon had many devoted fans.
\nWanting a permanent place to prepare and market her truffles, she ventured into the ice cream business, opening Margot\u2019s Ice Cream Parlor in 1996. Beginning with a more basic brand of ice cream, it wasn\u2019t long before she heard about her current line, Lapperts, a premium ice cream that originated in Hawaii.
\nAnd of course, Margot being Margot, shortly thereafter she and daughter Kayla were bound for Hawaii where she met the company\u2019s founder, Walter Lappert, who explained how his ice creams were made with all natural flavors and colors. She was sold.
\n\u201cWhen people see our pistachio ice cream they\u2019re surprised because it isn\u2019t the bright green color that they\u2019re used to,\u201d Margot said with a laugh.
\nIn 2011, the historic building housing Margot\u2019s Ice Cream Parlor experienced an interior remodeling that forced Margot to close the business for several months, which coincided with one of the busiest times for her shop. From February through June, several hundred school children a week drop in for ice cream after touring the old Mission across\u00a0the street.
\nBut she soon bounced back, Margot-like, and business is booming. As we chatted, she frequently hopped up to lend a hand behind the counter.
\nAlso visiting the shop that afternoon were Margot\u2019s younger sister, Katie, and her mom, Naomi, who opened the business with Margot and remains a part-owner. I enjoyed warm hugs from both women before they were off, back to work at another store on the street.
\nDespite her busy life, Margot found time for new love, her husband Craig, who is the general manager of the theater in Hollister. Their daughter, Laurie, now 11, completes the little family.
\nThe Tankersleys like keeping things close to home.
\n\u201cI would HATE to commute!\u201d exclaimed Margot, her expressive cornflower blue eyes widening.
\nAnd so they don\u2019t. At least not very far. Because being close to home and family is what Margot loves most, and she\u2019s keeping it that way.
\nGale Hammond is a writer and freelance photographer who has lived in Morgan Hill since 1983. Reach her at galehooverhammond@yahoo.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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