Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-02-23
Mike UIine Dies at 50:
Made Fortune Out of Ice
Continued From First Page

Continued From First Page
adjoining his ice plant at Third
and M streets NE. and di-
verted part of his interest and
wealth to basketball teams.
hockey teams and other types
of indoor entertainment.
First Job in Quarry
The Dutch immigrant boy,
born November %. 1874. in
Noord RHabant. Holland, and
educated by the Christian
Brothers at SHertogenbosch,
became plain Mike" at his
first job in this country as a
stone digger in a Cleveland
quarry.
Young Mikes employer was
also in the ice business. One
of the youths tasks was to de-
liver the ice that formed in the
quarry water holes during the
winter. He also obtained a
team and wagon and contract
ed to shovel snow and ice on
sidewalks.
With the money he saved
from these jobs. Mr.. Uline or
ganized the Colonial Ice Co.
and became its president the
year he attained his majority.
In a few years. he expanded
to two plants. with 1875 horses
and wagons. four ice stations
and four coal yards. When his
rival. the City Ice & Fuel Co.,
suggested consolidation. Mr.,
Uline remained as chief Of
f1cer until he moved to Toledo
and organized the Moumee Ice
Co
Begins Shaping Inventions
BY this time. his creative
mind had begun shaping the
long series of inventions that
were to play an important part
in revolutionizipg the ice in
dustry. In addition to 10 ice
plants in Toledo, he operated
two in Cleveland. another in
Willard. Ohio, and kept a ma
chine shop humming in Toledo.
In a consolidation of Toledo
ice companies. he became pres
ident of the new corporation;
but finally his zeal to organize
sent him back to Cleveland,
where he opened a new COM
pany and in time bought out
the City Il & Fuel Co.
When tn urge to pioneer
seized Mr.. Uline in his Cleve-
land days he closed his eyes.
thrust pin into a mao and
saw it had landed squarely on
Washington. d. c.
HtdyeU STOI, fOkeT
Perhaps there was a sixth
sense working for him then,
too. for in 1881 he found Wash
ington ice business Is years be-
hind the times.
This caused him to put to
practical use his new inven-
tons and stimulated evolution
of others. One of the most
important was a scoring ma
chine. Before it was intro
duced. ice was being carried
on wagons in 200-pound chunks
and the iceman was obliged to
cut it up with a hoe-like in
strument.
The scorer split the big cakes
into 25-pound chunks. He haC
manufactured the devices ir
Toledo before selling the patent
rights for $150,000. But on the
scorer. as well as many other
of his inventions, he continued
to receive royalties.
Mr.. Uline also built a ma
chine shop in connection with
his Washington plant and de-
lighted in seeing his creations
being turned out for a world
wide market.
The Washington machine
shop manufactured cubing, siZ-
ing and trimming machines
all of which he had devised.
Bag Found National Favor
When he came to Washing
ton. icemen were delivering
their crushed product in bushel
baskets. Mr.. Uline created q
bag that soon found national
favor.
Later. he fashioned a smaller
cotton bag with a patented
pre-freeZing process that pre-
vented ice from sticking in the
cloth.
Mi. Uline's determination
and capacity for learning was
reflected in his mastery of the
English language. He didn't
know a word of English when
he landed in New York with
his parents in 1890, but while
still a young man, he became
known as a top speaker and
prolific letter-writer.
His speeches before various
meetings Of the National Asso-
citation of Ice Industries in
spired ice producers every
where. He had a passion for
the industry that his fellow
ice-makers had difficulty trying
to match.
"lce in Sugar Bowls"
Our policy is Ice anytime,
anywhere, any way" he told
one gathering. I'VE don't care
how they order as long as it is
ice A man came to me one
day and ] could see by the way
he talked that he was some
what in doubt as to whether
we would deliver ice as he
i q