Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-02-10
ICE HARVEST TO
EMPLOY many
Various Dealers in Ottumwa
Will Need Hundreds of
Men This Week
COLD WAVE PROVES
BLESSING FOR IDLE
Zero Weather Gives EN-
ployment as Well as Dis
tress to Unemployed

II the cold snap Of the past few
days has brought distress 10 some peo
pie In Ottumwa, it has also proven
that every cloud has the silver lining
claimed for 1t as the zero weather has
made 1t possible that those Ottum-
vans who have been out of work may
find plenty to do for time on the ice
fields.
Nearly all Of the local Ice dealers
and the large users Of the CONCEALED
water will be actively engaged cutting
the frozen product on the river within
the next day or two.
Most of the ice dealers will be cut
ting ice Tuesday and all are now pre-
pairing the field for cutting. The mark
ing and other preliminary work con.
nected with the annual ice harvest Ia
now in progress and many men are en-.
gagged by the various local concerns
that handle the product in getting
ready for an immediate start The
ferent parts of the stream from wnicn
IuC udINCol Will OcN NLdhcA. COLlC quOJo
II from six to twelve inches thick and
wise to delay the cuttin. for fear OF
tnaw.
That the distress brought to some
will be a blessing to others II assured
for all az the ya rios s sco SsS Sslers viii
supply employment for several hun.
dreds Of men and It - likely that there
will be more work than men available
to do It. 8
Morrell 10 Large User.
The largest amount of ice to be cut
by any concern will be that taken by
the packing plant. This Arm will put
up from 10000 to 10000 tons OF ice IL
the weather will permit the cutting OF
this amount. Already there is a force
of men employed in making ready for
the big annual ice harvest. Hundreds
of men will be employed by this firm
alone in the ice cutting, for 1t is by far
the largest user and packer of ice that
there is in this section Of the state.
For some days past the packing house
has been shipping in ice,' but regard
less of this the usual cutting west Of
the dams will be made il the weather
permits and as much as possible will
be put up while 1t lasts.
w. w. Cummings will start force
Of men cutting on Wednesday and has
several at work at present making the
preliminary arrangements for huge
packing of ice that this Arm does
every year. There will be from 1000
to 5000 tons put up for the firms own
local business and If the weather per-
mits several thousands of tons for out
side companies that contract with the
Cummings concern for an ice supply
each year.
The j. B. Curran Ice Co., expects to
put from 100 to 1875 men to work on
their field Tuesday as the marking and
preliminary work is already completed.
The frm has recently rebuilt It's ice
house that was destroyed by fire
short time ago.
The A. L. Schafer Co.. starts cutting
Tuesday and will employ about 100
men, The field is above the first dam.
The firm states that it has ten to
twelve inch ice.
A. j. Bloom will begin Tuesday near
the Market street bridge to cut the ice
needed for the Baker Bros, butter and
egg firm.
Lew Schafer whose field Is just
south of Morrell ice houses and west OF
the dams, will begin cutting Ice We'd
nesday. All OF these firms will pack
thousands of tons of ice and will en,-
ploy a large army Of men in the work