Did anyone have an ice box when you were growing up, We did THE ICE MAN NO LONGER COMETH Ice is the solid form of water, an amazing substance long known and used for its cooling capacity. Its importance was most particularly seen in the preservation of perishable foodstuffs. Until fairly recent times, ice used for such cooling was cut in large blocks from rivers, lakes and ponds across the northern United States. This winter activity took place in Stevens Point as a matter of necessity. The January 25th, 1882 Portage County Gazette reported that Andrew Lutz, Adam Kuhl and others were harvesting ice on the Wisconsin River. The Wisconsin Pinery noted the next year that the ice harvested in late January was two feet thick and “clear as crystal.” A fortnight later, the Pinery reported that the ice passing through the streets was “not of the best quality.” This ice was taken to ice houses throughout Stevens Point where it was packed in sawdust and kept until warm weather when it was sold. Throughout the “ice season,” to householders and commercial users. A common sight in the years gone by was the iceman and his wagon (later his truck), making deliveries of blocks ice to his subscription customers. A sign was issued to each subscriber; was a two - sided placard indicating ice was needed or not. If ice was required, the iceman would cut a block of the required size with an ice pick, attach tongs to the block with a mighty stroke, and hoist the block onto his shoulder. Icemen were strong (Jim Thorpe, the great Indian football star was an iceman one summer), for they had to carry an average of fifty to one hundred fifty pounds of ice from the wagon to the icebox at each stop.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 00:25:53 +0000