The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-06-28
Being the Ice Man Is Not
So Desirable After All

'Tce!" shouted the man delivering
the cubes of crystallized White Bear
lake as he stood at the bottom of the
stairs.
A slatternly dressed. red-headed
woman looked over the banister.
yes. twenty-five" s she : screamed.
And up the three flights he started
with the chunk of dripping crystalline.
About ten minutes later he return
ed.
"Geewhittaker! I'm glad that wom-
an don't get ice every day-but- then
maybe if she did her ice box Wouldn't
be in that muss all the time" Z III
why, what's the matter ?sss7ssassa
Needs cleanin'; see lots of 'em like
that! All right; drive on, jack
Along we drive for few rods, when
the horses stop of their own accord.
CHANGING at the window of the house
before which we stand woman is
seen nodding her head to the man in
charge of the wagon.
you take that in, Bill" he says;
that's an easy one; you don't have to
take all the stuff out Of the ice box
and put it back in. That woman
knows something-she's always ready
for u.s."
Bill weighs out his 5ice and as he
goes in to deliver it we drive on and
leave him. u
:" y -AA1OAA 81 MAll4geSLtCA ice WdSOIls
One Is the man in charge, or the
driver; the other is his helper. Bill is
the helper, and Jack is the man in
charge. AS we moveson we say in an
innocent manner: sssssa -
How many times a1daysdo you think
you sell those ice tongs ?e
What dye mean On a surprised
and equally innocent manner.
'Why I notice that the 1ongs are al
ways included in the weight of each
piece Of ice you SELL They must be
very valuable longs by this time,
aren't they?' -
But Jack Is suddenly. very much in
terested in the fact that he cannot
make out whether or not Mrs. Jones
wants any ice today. and he will have
to leave the wagon and go into the
house.
Since s o'clock this morning these
men have been on the move. They
have what is known in the Ice mans
parlance as "a family route" and when
they put away their horses. about
o'clock tonight, they will have weighed
and delivered about nine tons of the
commodity, than which there is none
more diSagreeable to handle. It is al
ways wet, 1t Is always cold, 1t is al
ways difficult thing to move, and the
men on these family routes always
have to take the family edibles out of
IAAC NC OOAp wash Lie ICE anu put III
it's place. then return the household
stuff In good order-or get called down.
WHAT we ask, sis the average
amount used by the average family?"
And Jack tells us that twenty-five
pounds is called for seventy-five times
out of each hundred. The considera-
ton for which the ice companies Of the
city deliver this by contract is $3.50 a
month for twenty-five pounds each
day. And in this manner the average
family wagon of one of ST. PauPs ice
companies delivers about 400 tons each
month. Two men handle all this ice
Then there are the "hotel," ''restau-
rant" saloon" soda water and ice
cream fountain" wagons. On these
routes the ice is handled in the great
cakes intact, just as they came from
the lakes. There are men in the ice
delivery business in ST. Paul who will
take a 500-pound cake of ice on their
shoulders and carry it from a half to
an entire block. Some Of these ice
cream shops. Jack informs us, take
from three to four, and some of them
five, loads each day-and he mods his