Local ice cream institution, the Short Lane Ice Cream Company, will be celebrating 25 years of making Gloucester a little sweeter. Owners Toni and Barry Childress bought the store from Kim Williams in 2017. Williams was the one to teach the Childresses how to make ice cream in a two-week training course. The building on Route 17 was built in 1937. It originally opened as a general merchandise store, before being sold and turned into a post office in 1939. After the Childresses bought Short Lane, the couple focused on the overall feel they wanted the store to have. “We went to every flea market and antique store and bought everything dairy we could find—and I think five or six years ago my girls were making fun of me because I had an Etsy account,” Barry said. And, based on the feedback from their customers, the couple was successful in bringing their vision to life. “A guy came in the other day and said: ‘I come here because this is where time stands still’,” said Barry. “People will c...