“Win or lose, we’re so proud of them,” said Joe Meadows, partner of The Meadows Original Frozen Custard in Duncansville. “It’s such a great thing. They are so poised with all the attention they’re getting. It’s very impressive.”

About 100 cups of custom “bull power” ice cream — vanilla ice cream tinted blue with two Bugle chip horns — made its way to the Little League players and their families Wednesday evening, Meadows said.

The idea to create the new ice cream came to the Meadows partners and employees a few days ago, Meadows said, and the shop plans on selling it until the team comes home.

“We’re not going to give up now, as long as they keep winning, we’ll be selling bull power,” Meadows said. “We don’t want to jinx them.”

Hollidaysburg’s Caleb Detrick handles a Texas single as Aspen Anderson backs him up. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

By donating the Hollidaysburg-themed ice cream to the players and families, Meadows hopes it will serve as extra inspiration to do their best. As the custard shop usually sees 10 to 15 teams stopping by after games during the regular season, everyone at the Meadows is very familiar with the players and their families.

“They’re like family and we know the parents — we’ve just had a whole lot of fun with it,” Meadows said, adding that they leave the TVs on in the shop so employees can watch the game while working.

The Meadows isn’t the only local business to donate items to the Little League team. Poof-Slinky Inc. General Manager Paul Luther said its factory — where the original slinky toy is made — gave the players 600 classic, Hollidaysburg-made metal Slinkys.

When one of the Little League coaches contacted Luther, explaining the other teams were exchanging items that represented their home states or countries but the Hollidaysburg team didn’t have anything to give out, the factory was quick to donate the toys.

“We’re very proud of them here at the plant,” Luther said. “We’re all excited and watching the games and we wish them good luck.”

It’s hard to go anywhere in the area without seeing a business or home displaying signs with words of support or flying flags of the team’s colors — navy blue and gold — outside. Even on social media, the community has come out in droves to encourage the Little League players.

“It really is a benefit to raising your kids in a small town; it’s really been amazing,” said Hollidaysburg Area Summer Baseball League Fundraising Director Jodie Albarano. “It was so fun, and having my kids play in the league, watching these boys continue what everyone has started is great for our league and great for our community.”

The league currently has over 300 kids participating, Albarano said, adding that it’ll be interesting to see if that number will climb following the World Series.

“It’s a great motivator for the younger kids and a great goal for the kids to play toward,” Albarano said.

Hoping to further motivate the players, Hollidaysburg Area School District Superintendent Robert Gildea said that Foot of Ten Elementary School teachers John Wessner and Alyssa Carpenter came up with the idea to create a video of the district’s teachers making bullhorns and saying bull power.

“Obviously we’re very proud of the kids and this is the perfect example of how sports unites the community,” Gildea said.

The video, uploaded to the district’s Facebook page and shared over 100 times, has been viewed over 2,000 times, according to Hollidaysburg Director of Community Relations Melanie Ramsey.

“We’re proud of all of them, and I think the whole region has really embraced them,” Gildea said. “We’re not planning on them coming home anytime soon.”

While the Little League team is based in Hollidaysburg, two of its players are actually from Bedford County.

Brody Dull is a middle school student from the Chestnut Ridge School District while Aspen Anderson is a seventh grader at Bedford Area Middle School.

No team from either Blair or Bedford County has ever gotten to the Little League World Series, let alone advanced this far into the competition.

“It’s very unique, we have kids excel in individual things in the summer or outside of the school that we might not know about, but when we find out, it brings a special type of unity to the school,” Bedford Middle School Principal Kevin Windows said.

Chestnut Ridge School District is proud of Dull and the entire Hollidaysburg team, said middle school Assistant Principal Patrick Isgan.

“We’re excited and just rooting for him and all of Hollidaysburg,” he said.

As the school year has already started, Windows said he is looking forward to getting Anderson’s excuse for being absent.

“You don’t get a lot of excuses for absences because you were pitching in the Little League World Series,” Windows said. “That’s one I think I’d like to keep.”

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.