Imperial Valley press., 1945-04-15
Ice Firm Marks
Growth From
Pioneer Start

Back in the days when The Great
American Desert was inhabited
mostly by horned toadS. coyotes and
gila monsters. it was then the early
settlers met their most severe test.
by managing to endure the intense
heat of the long mercileSS summers,
and there was crying need for
cool refreshing water to quench the
burning thirst created by the in
tense heat of "Old Man Desert"
w. F. Holt one of the early ar
rivals at Imperial, moved four miles
south of that first city, and found
ed the town of Ell Centre. Soon af-
ter his arrival, he started the erec-
ton of a power plant, followed by
an ice plant. This plant was pur-
chased in 1906 by the Imperial Ice
and Development Co, and Imperial
Ice" came into being.
From far and near came the early
settlers to purchase ice to preserve
their hard-to-get food, to provide
them with cool drinking water and
to make life more endurablc.
PLANTS SPREAD
AS other towns sprung up and
required ice service, plants were
erected in each town. giving service
to city as we'll as rural customers,
with delivery service to their homes.
All through the long years that
followed. the Imperial Ice has serv-
ed faithfully and to the best of its
ability at all times.
When it was found that canta-
loupeS and other perishable vege-
tables could be grown here success
fully, larger quantities of ice were
required to safely ship these perish
ables to eastern consuming centerS.
This gradually required additional
ice storage space, to build up a re-
serve supply of ice for the peak of
the shipping seasons so that ship
pers could be assured of sufficient
ice to take care of the shipment Of
their entire crop.
In 1919. ice storage capacity alone
had reached 10000 tons, and daily
production 1000 tons in the COM
bined plants.
Imperial Ice, by having plants in
and production capacity. has always
assured its customers that no mat
ter how small or how large their
acreage. sufficient ice was on hand
to take care of their every need.
That still holds good today, even
under the demands now made by the
Armed Forces. and increased indus
trial and civilian demands. The
Imperial Ice has been able, not only
to take care of its customer demand,
but also to supply ice to many
shipping points in the Pacific South
west, during critical ice shortage
periods.
Today it has plants operating in
Coachella, Brawley, Calexico, Cali
patria, FL Centre, Holtville and Mex
icali.
PIONEER HARDSKIPS
The Imperial Ice has gone
through all the hardships of being
a pioneer, has grown up with Inn
perial Valley, sharing its good years
ard its bad years, never faltering
in ifs faith in the Valleys future.
Its paramount endeavor has been to
keep Imperial Service dependable
all the years to come as 1t
has tried 10 do in years gone by.
It's customers problems have been
considered its problems, and it has
endeavored to assume its share of
the responsibility of serving THE
Great American Family with prod
ucts from The Winter Garden OF
From 1906 to l945 is a long way
to come, but Imperial Ice is still
striving, as always, to fulfill its
obligations as well as its civic duties
in the communities in which 1t
serves, and is proud TO be identified
as a pioneer in this unpredictable,
most proc uctive part of California,
The Hollow o. Gods Hand, I'm
oerial VALLEY"