It was a brutally cold Wednesday afternoon in State College, and Chris Scala had the right idea.

"It's much warmer in here," said Scala (freshman-chemical engineering), thawing between classes at a round table in the back of Graham's Newsstand, 124 S. Allen St., skimming the latest issue of College Sports.

And though conventional wisdom says you just don't eat ice cream on a frigid day, Scala couldn't resist nibbling at a small chocolate fudge brownie cone over his magazine.

That is the beauty of Graham's, which also houses a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop. A copy of Celebrity Hair and a Cherry Garcia sundae -- a match made in heaven?

No, a match made out of convenience and necessity, really.

"Our lease (at the corner of Allen Street and College Avenue) ran out five years ago, and we really wanted to stay downtown," said Bob Newborn, president of Newborn Enterprises, the wholesaler and distributor of publications that has owned Graham's for the last 17 years.

Newborn found that the Ben & Jerry's franchise across the street was for sale and purchased it to create this hybrid shop -- the only such pairing of Peace Pops and porno mags in the nation, and the only Ben & Jerry's in Pennsylvania, Newborn said.

The left wall of Graham's displays a wide variety of publications from the obscure and European to the glossy and mainstream American, from Wearable Crafts to GQ.

"We sell a lot of publications that would otherwise not be available in State College," Newborn said.

Ray Whitehill, a pipe fitter from Middlebury, was rifling through magazines pertaining to his hobbies, hunting and fishing. Very popular among the racks, there are enough outdoor magazines to satisfy even crossbow maven Ted Nugent.

"Somebody told me they had a good selection," Whitehill said, adding that he was happy with the variety.

Selection aside, one of the most attractive things to Graham's customers is the opportunity to browse through magazines without much hassle.

"We take a very liberal attitude toward browsing," Newborn said. "They're probably going to buy something anyway."

David Rutherford (junior-art) had already purchased his underground-rock magazine, so he figured he could escape any less-than-liberal attitudes from Graham's employees.

"They're really cool about it," Rutherford said. "I should come here more often."

A wall mural of some Ben & Jerry's happy pastoral cows grazing in green fields overlooks the platform where Rutherford was hunched over his magazine, sitting at one of the round white tables.

"I've been reading 40 minutes or so now," said Rutherford, who had also been skimming through High Times, Detour and Snowboarding.

Those tables are presumably for the ice-cream eaters, but on that Siberian day, Scala was the only one eating.

"I figure as long as I don't get the magazine messed up, it's OK," he said.

Rich Badger (senior-science) visits Graham's a couple of times a week to look at financing and sports magazines.

"Sometimes I get an ice cream, but not today," Badger said, studying a copy of Trading Cards, a monthly sportscard price guide.

But not everybody justs sits around reading record reviews and sniffing perfume samples in the magazines. There are racks of greeting cards, shelves of candy and cigarettes and a display of Ben & Jerry's clothing and trinkets. Aspiring lottery millionaires come in for tickets. It might be compared to a country store.

Manager Bill Reynolds chats with regulars, who mosey in a steady stream for their daily newspapers and lottery tickets. Many of them know him as Bill.

"We talk about sports and the weather and sometimes I'll get into politics, unless McKim here shuts me up," Reynolds said, referring to employee Chris McKim (junior-film), who just smiled and shrugged off the comment.

Reynolds sets the mood for the laid-back atmosphere that pervades the Graham's aura. He engages in good-natured small talk with a deadpan sarcasm and relaxed speaking style.

"What's up?" he asked one customer, who simply came in for a New York Times. "Not writing the great American novel or anything, are you?"

And Reynolds is quite content with his job. "I can't think of many days I dread coming to work," he said.

That casual atmosphere, as well as the diversity of the Ben & Jerry's/Graham's combination, has kept both businesses alive, Newborn said.

"The corner location was far superior because people just bumped into us, but we're not doing too bad," he said. "Graham's has been a fixture in State College for a long time, and I don't see us leaving any time soon."

And Scala won't be leaving his magazine to brave the cold anytime soon, either.