Ozarks Life: Pineapple Whip celebrates 50th anniversary [Video]

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – On a summer’s stroll to the Ozark Empire Fair’s midway, fairgoers have been passing a sweet frozen treat for 50 years.

“Just kind of light and refreshing and really good,” Zach Fortner said.

For the 1974 Ozark Empire Fair, Zach’s grandfather, Dan Fortner, opened up a small concession at the old grandstand serving up a new concoction – Pineapple Whip.

“(Dan) ran the concession stands at the fairgrounds for a long time,” Zach said, “and he was just thinking, ‘I need something else, something kind of interesting and unique.’”

Zach started working in the family business at a young age swatting flies at the Fair when he was a kindergartener. A banker by trade, Zach made his way back to the family business about a decade ago.

Pineapple Whip was so successful, that Springfieldians were asking for it year-round. So, in the mid-80s, Zach’s grandfather built …