Little Compton Memories: Hood’s Ice Cream, Candy, and the Mystery of Polly’s Pantry

Vintage print advertisement from 1934 for Polly’s Pantry in Little Compton, RI, listing magazines, soda, candy, cigarettes, and Hood’s French-American Ice Cream.
Polly’s Pantry ad featured in the 1934 Summer Locater, offering a nostalgic look back at Little Compton's summer commerce.

When flipping through the pages of the 1934 Summer Locater published by the Little Compton Village Improvement Society, you quickly realize how bustling our corner of Rhode Island was nearly a century ago. Among the established local storefronts sits a charming advertisement for a long-lost small business: Polly’s Pantry.

While the business is no longer around, and precise records of its exact physical location in town have faded with time, the ad paints a clear picture of a cozy neighborhood general store.

It operated in the same spirit as town staples like Simmons Store, Wilbur's General Store, or even East Lake Variety just across the border—a quick one-stop shop for everyday essentials and summer treats.

Presumably run by a local proprietor named Polly, the store offered simple everyday treats and conveniences:

  • Magazines & Reading Material

  • Cold Soda & Candy

  • Cigarettes

  • Hood’s French-American Ice Cream

The highlight of the advertisement is undoubtedly the feature for Hood’s French-American Ice Cream. Today, we think of Hood as a standard New England supermarket brand, but that extra "French-American" designation gave it an unexpected air of elegance back in 1934.

On a muggy, humid July afternoon in Sakonnet or Adamsville, stopping by Polly’s Pantry for a scoop must have felt like a true luxury.

It often feels as though Little Compton had a denser network of tiny neighborhood markets back then than it does today. However, local enterprise is far from dead. Seeing younger locals step up to take the reins at community anchors like The Commons Lunch and Wilbur's General Store proves that the spirit of local ownership remains strong.

Perhaps one day an entrepreneurial resident will look back at this 1934 advertisement and decide to revive the Polly’s Pantry name for a new generation. If anyone decides to bring back cold soda, classic treats, and ice cream under that sign, you can be sure I’ll be first in line!

This post contains an affiliate link. If you make a purchase through this link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the Little Compton Blog!

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