Most everyone who was a kid in the 1960s and ‘70s remembers their first Jack & Jill sundae at Dairy Queen. The Jack & Jill was a popular order, and for most folks, there were two ways to eat it. You could pick a side, starting with the chocolate, dragging your spoon down and then popping it into your mouth, and when that was gone, finish up with the marshmallow and have two treats for one.

Or, you could just mix it all up with the chocolate, ice cream and marshmallow together, Agustus Gloop style, into one tasty concoction. Either way, the Jack & Jill became one of the memories of growing up.

The Jack & Jill is no longer on the menu, but you can still get one made to order from the “secret” list. Just ask for a vanilla ice cream sundae with half fudge and half marshmallow on top. Whether you’re a mixer or a food separatist, it’s a great finisher for a trip to the zoo, or just because you want one.

Since 1985, the Great Bend Dairy Queen treat shoppe at 2302 Main St. (across the street from the Brit Spaugh Zoo) has been offering that very thing, to kids making their own memories and adults who want to revive them. It was owned by Larry Dean Lunsford and his wife Jeanine. When they passed away, the store came to their daughter Candi, who continued the tradition.

On March 18, Candi sold the business to Charlie Pleskac, who has 17 years’ experience in the joy that a trip to Dairy Queen brings. 

Pleskac, (pronounced “Plus-scotch”) bought his first Dairy Queen in 2008, when he was 23 years old. “I maybe had two quarters to rub together to my name, which is better than two nickels. I put a lot of sweat, time and tears into that, and it paid off.”

After a stint in South Dakota, the Pleskac family came back to Nebraska, where Charlie grew up. That was when he was approached about becoming a financial adviser for Edward Jones. “I had three stores at the time and we were selling our South Dakota store. I had met with an Edward Jones adviser and he asked if I would be interested. 

“I tried to tell them no as hard as I could, but he was a pretty persuasive individual. They just had to realize that I’m not going to be wearing a suit and tie to an office. I’m a blue-jeans-and-polo-shirt guy, that’s the top of the line for me.”

Charlie and his wife Rita have six children, who have grown up with Dairy Queen. “Somehow, I don’t know how it happens, we happen to have a frozen Blizzard in our freezer at all times. Whenever we travel, when we’re going to a town where we own a store, it’s a given that we will stop at Dairy Queen. Half the time I figure we could stop somewhere else, maybe upscale a sit-down a little bit. But I don’t even ask any more, because I’m going to get shot down.”

The Great Bend Dairy Queen has been known as a longtime family owned business, and Pleskac is focused on keeping that going. “We are a family and we take that type of approach everywhere we go. With 17 years in the business, I’ve learned a lot about Dairy Queen and I’ve learned even more about how to develop a good team and how to keep them. 

We definitely want to continue the community involvement as we can. Dairy Queen as a brand is a very community-oriented business; it’s a gathering place after ball games. It’s where you go after you’re done walking through the zoo.”

“You guys have an amazing zoo. It’s the first thing that my wife and I walked through when we came to Great Bend. My wife said, ‘A free zoo? Really? Let’s check that out.’ 

“As long as people keep saying ‘let’s go to DQ,’ to me, I’m happy. I get the pride and the history of DQ in Great Bend. I’m not a corporate guy, I’m a husband married to a wife for 18 years and have six kids.

“I will say that what we are anticipating with the store is making it better over time. There are some physical things that we do have in mind, some new equipment. Come off-season, October-November-December, we will be working a little bit on the inside, making it a little easier for employees to move around. Add a little more interactive ability with the customers. 

“There are no concrete plans. This first summer we will be observing and learning, we have all the same employees. All the familiar faces are still there. 

“It’s kind of ‘I’m going to learn more from you than you are from me,’ thing. Just to grow it a little over time.”