I'm not sure if the term soft served is universal, but in my life it has for the most part referred to soft served ice cream. Most recognizable as that vanilla and chocolate fondue that excretes from a magical ice cream machine into a ready made waffle cone.  Dairy Queen made it famous in most cities and the Brazier burger with the banana split  made it a staple for a summer time treat.

Before that or around the same time many small stores or concession stands dotted the communities with soft served ice cream making machines. It became so popular, that in fact it was almost as ritualistic as going to church.

My father who worked long hours in the Sudbury mines of northern Ontario, would come home on weekends. Every Saturday morning he would put my two year old ass and my adopted brothers slightly less than two year old ass in a wooden wagon and haul us about a mile to the general store for some soft serve. This was a summer tradition for us three until I was about five years old. After that we moved to Bay Ridges where my father worked on the Bruce Nuclear Station.

Now, I know this is all just trivial to most of you here, but at some point before my father died of cancer, he reminisced under the influence of opiates, how those trips to the general store for soft serve were some the best memories he had.