Celebrate spring! Special 4th birthday party on popular ice cream stand’s opening day

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY SHELBY PRATER

After asking every time he and his mom, Shelby Prater, drove past their favorite ice cream stand, ‘When will the Dari-ette be back?” Cam celebrates his 4th birthday on the opening day of the landmark Dalton eatery on March 15.

Cam Prater and his best friend and cousin, Hayes.

Cam Prater receives a balloon from Jen Huff, manager at The Dalton Dari-ette.

Cam Prater and twin brothers, (his “bro bros”) Keegan and Colson.

DGKN staff report

Shelby Prater, a 2010 Dalton graduate, (formerly Shelby Carmichael), said her son, Cam, celebrated his 4th birthday on the opening day of the Dalton Dari-ette March 15.

“Every time we pass the Dari-ette during the winter, the question was always asked ‘when will the Dari-ette be back?’” she wrote to The DGKN.

The family now lives in Navarre and Prater, who is a teacher, said they make quite a few trips to the Dari-ette during the summer. Cam always orders a footlong hotdog – “he’s quite amazed with these” – and either French Fries or onion rings depending on the day, Prater wrote.

“The best part of the Dari-ette is the strawberry milkshakes and the fun hill to run down after eating,” she wrote. “His best buddy Hayes (cousin), his Aunt J (Jess Bolinger, formerly Carmichael) and my mom, Barb Carmichael, were all there. We would love to make this a tradition and the weather this year was perfect for it! If he got to decide, he would probably want all of his birthday parties at the Dari-ette with his friends.”

Prater said the manager, Jen Huff, and her staff “are always so sweet to Cam when we come.” This year, Cam’s “bro bros,” Keegan and Colson, were able to enjoy Dari-ette food for the first time. “The Dari-ette has and always will be special to me as it is ‘home’,” Prater wrote.

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