In this day and age, this might sound weird, but there was a time when this operation was done in many areas of our state and country. Electricity was not available in certain areas, because it was still in the infancy stage of development and distribution.
The term"refrigerator"was not in our every day conversation, because "refrigerators" had not been invented yet. The term or word back then was"Ice Box," and that's what it was. The "ice box," as it was called, consisted of a wooden box or cupboard looking cabinet that had two handles that opened up for putting food into that needed to be kept cool and the opening on top held a block of ice that helped cool the food. As the ice melted there was a small drain line that ran down to the bottom of the "ice box" and the melted ice water was caught in a shallow pan. The problem with the melting ice water would come up when the water pan did not get emptied on time and the ice water would spill on to the kitchen floor. Sometimes one would be walking barefoot before putting on your shoes and get a real "suprise" of an ice cold foot bath.
Now back to the "Ice Harvest" operation. The river or lake, which ever was best located was the source of ice. Holes were chopped in the ice and then large hand operated saws started cutting huge blocks of ice. There was an area cut out that served as a way to float the blocks of ice to an area where they were put on an elevator of sorts and transported to a large "ice" bulding. Once the blocks were inside they were covered with large amounts of saw dust which served as insulation, so that it would help keep the ice from melting in warm weather.
Most gas stations carried ice that was obtained from the big "ice house." The gas stations had a small type "ice house." and ice was sold to people by the pound. I remember my Dad stopping for gas after church and gettng a block of ice that we took home on the front bumper of our car. Obviously some of the ice melted on our 5 mile drive home, but not too much. I don't believe the block lasted for a week, but some time during the week someone probably went to town for something and picked up some more ice at a local gas station. As I mentioned earlier the good old ice pan was usually spilled over. However; there were times when my Mom would get out of bed and be muttering as she went by my room ,"I forgot to empty the ice pan."
One way you can tell if a person is over 50 or 60 years-old is the fact that they might still call today's refrigerator an "ice box."
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