Marquette, Summer 1988. A picturesque scene by all accounts, and one that was about to get pretty sweet. Moose Tracks first hit the market for local Yoopers and soon would be sold and enjoyed in all 50 states. So how did the obscure small-town treat turn into a nationwide craze?
It all started Up North at Jilbert’s Dairy, with John Jilbert himself. Jilbert’s, started by John and his family in 1937, is to this day both a local dairy and an ice cream shop. John had the idea to mix refreshing vanilla, decadent fudge, and tiny peanut butter cups, creating a new American classic. Truly a knockout flavor.
But there was also a Steve Jobs to Jilbert’s whole-milk Wozniak. That man was Jon Beckwith.
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree for Jon and his father Robert. Robert worked for Kellogg’s shortly after the market crash of 1929. While working there, he came up with both the variety pack of small cereal boxes as well as the half-gallon and gallon tubs of ice cream you find in every grocery store today. With the growing popularity of deep freezers for Michigan residents in the 1950s, Robert saw a clear hole in the market. His wife Kathy told me over the phone that others first doubted the gallon tub idea, saying to Robert, “Who would buy that much ice cream?” We both chuckled at the question, knowing just how right he was. Clearly, understanding consumer experience was a family talent.
Jon and Kathy Beckwith always viewed ice cream as more than just a cold treat, a sentiment Kathy still exudes today. “We’ve always thought ice cream is the art of delicious entertainment, in fact we still play around making things when we entertain.” The way she describes how they make an experience in every bite reminds me of other ice-cream greats, and it makes sense that this family’s vision for ice cream helped put Moose Tracks on the map.
So the Beckwiths set out to create their own ice cream brand, and Denali Flavors was born. The brand’s name was based on Jon’s love for the Alaskan frontier, which he had visited in the 1960s. Once the Beckwiths crafted a consumer-relatable brand, they looked for a perfect product, and when they found John Jilbert, they turned his Up North delight into a household name.
Who first named Moose Tracks is a little hazy. There was a small mini golf course down the road from Jilbert’s bearing the same name. Though Jilbert’s son Jason, a teenager at the time of its creation, said no matter who named it first, it was popular with locals in part because it was around the time moose were being dropped into the Upper Peninsula to repopulate, and everyone was jonesing to see one.
Moose Tracks is still licensed by Denali Flavors, though now sold from the Beckwiths and currently owned by Orkla, a European conglomerate. The original flavor has expanded with multiple variations. Many businesses throughout Michigan manufacture the Moose Tracks flavor family under Denali’s trademark, providing options in grocery stores and ice cream shops alike. Though Jilbert’s has since been sold to the Dairy Farmers of America, it still lives on as a dairy and ice cream shop. The old days may seem to be over, but these cumulative efforts of just a few visionary Michiganders are still being enjoyed across the nation to this very day.
For anyone looking to take a culinary pilgrimage, Jilbert’s still sells the flavor up north. If you’re lucky, John Jilbert will be there himself to tell you all about that first summer of 1988.
Devinn Dakohta is a contributing writer for Michigan Enjoyer. Follow her on Instagram @Devinn.Dakohta and X @DevinnDakohta.
