Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-01-27
No ,co Harvesting These Days.

Inc COLO OF tne tuFt WV ~ /
days recalls the ice harvesting season
OF many years ago, when local. dealers
I'm much dreary, depressing
anecu,a tion as TO whether there would
be ice thick enough to cut bofofe
spring arrived and as to where the
summer supply was to come from IL
winter here failed them. Every one
can recall small armies of men at
work with axes and spears cutting ana
showing the huge cakes into the houses, |
usually mt the water side and what |
weight was lifted from the minds of the |
big dealers when this winters work |
was completed.
The harvest of twenty years or so
ago was picturesque and interesting.
Often the ice was sawed or cut by
horse driven .plow and fioated up a
long channel whore men. bundled in
woolens. with boots bound up In bag
ginz sent the huge blocks up the skids
into tho houses where Il was carefully
packed or arranged In layers for
economy In space and to guard against
waste II was rare, unless the winter
had far advanced without freezing
weather. THAT ice was gathered under
four inches thick. This was considered
the minimum as to size, while eight
inches was preferred.
When an occasional season passed
without tho Ice being of sufficient
thickness, dealers sent 10 Maine for
their supplies and the ice was shipped
by car, often in train-loads lots. and
stored until consumed There was
usually more or less apprehension as
to these shipments being received be-
fore the supply IN hand might ho ex-
hausted. and one might summarize tho
ice mans experience to have been "tust
one blasted thing after another" lie.
! however. always camc ont right ns
/ we remember and nc probably would
| stnutly affirm. were any Of the older
! ones alive, that the things he feared
most. and those that caused him tho
/ greatest concern and the most worries
never happened But tho icc man is
not alone in reaching this conclusion
after looking back over past expert
| fnceaI
Neverth"less he was indispensable.
and his ice ana that Of ali his fellow
dealers WAS composed nt pure spring
water as the large letters on the de-
livery wagon always assured tho doubt
4 ing. and everybody was pleased with
the purity of the supply. even though
pure spring water was difficult 20 freeze
IN those DAYS when nature WAS IL
pended On We rightly had no drcae
az microbes, nor pollution. nor of ans
Qualities that were not wholly health
fuI. and we enjoyed our Iced beverage
ia the summertime without thought q
else than the pleasure they afforded
while they were performing thea
functions of cooling Of the inner man
and incidentally the outer ono as wei
The ola. ani naturally fruzea iet
was indeed uauall. excellent ia ever.
respect l,tt not. ~ We look bach. hal
il satisfying as the ice that II serve
in our refrigcrators today
The coming of the artificial ice end
+ "a the winter gathering and STORM
J af the summer supplies. and hlotte
Z o,It that eH-rcmcmhered picture {
. s-rollps ~ rneu with horse or tw
i moving speedily TO and fro over ih
! frozen surface of crooks or dams an
Z with skillfui twist of thr tie harroo
4 would send huge cakes jnt" the 81
pacio,rs doorvy;lya ~ big storage houa'
Z or loading them IN highly shelvcd wat
q ons when they were driven hither aH
I yon about the city q The homes
8 -,r~scy.s Of means ana there stored IN
i walled underground repository whel
i n Iasted even though used unstin
i ;nelv urtu the return ot the IS.
o winter
+ Tho manufactured ice has put the j.
dividual icc house ont Of use. - .
y most nobody gathers tce these DAY
! In earlier times the farmer stored tro
i 100 ID 200 tons ia winter but now
!, is rarc that he harvests any i hc l4v
80 Within casy reach uf the purer g
il better quality that is made thToui
~ cherascal-1rc, nanicaI measures.
The process Of manufacturing q
~ supplying ice 70 . community the
n aavs as contrasted with the EARL
oe period is another proof that we
I, many things better than our fathe
/, and rrandfathere Man today q
J. makes much better ice than nstu
~ ever did