I was going through the photos on my phone the other day when I came across a series of ice card photos I took when we visited the Maine Maritime Museum a while back.
Did your grandparents ever tell you about these? Did they grow up with ice cards in their windows?
I remember my grandmother telling me about when she was a kid how her family had ice delivered to their home.
Can you imagine having to do that now?
More importantly can you imagine what it would be like if it was your JOB to cut the ice? In Maine?
Or any other place that’s like 2 degrees in winter? I wonder what the perfect temperature for cutting ice is anyway.
Call me crazy but it looks like the man in the photo is wearing a pair of Bean Boots.
Bean boots and wool overalls. This would not have been a job for me, that’s for sure.
I LOVE museums! There’s always something new to see and learn.
Have you been to a museum lately? I have a few I want to visit this year. The Met and The Norman Rockwell Museum are at the top of my list.
How about YOU? Is there a museum you really want to visit?
~Mavis
Nancy Settel says
Nothing better than seeing Winterthur Museum in Wilm. Delaware. Oh the Shelborn Museum in Vermont so wonderful.
Mavis Butterfield says
I LOVE the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. There are so many great examples of American folk art. It’s one of my favorites!! https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/my-visit-to-the-shelburne-museum/
Stacey says
When I was “back home” in Vermont in September for a work event, I was able to go through a new Native American exhibit at the Shelburne Museum. It was amazing, and there were even a few things we could touch. It was funny because I was holding my hands behind my back and leaning forward to see some of the artwork better. The museum employee came over to let me know I could touch it. I must have looked a little kid trying very hard to be good.
Lana says
We love the little history museum in the town where our vacation house is located. The most interesting thing is a paddy wagon which is really a cage in wheels to be pulled by a horse. They have constantly changing exhibits about the area so there is always something new to see.
Kath says
My grandfather was an “ice man” in Buffalo, NY. He delivered the ice blocks to people’s homes for their ice chests.
Pat Marino says
Just a quick hello from your another Buffalonian. What a great man your grandfather was!
Tamara says
I remember a Charles Kuralt segment describing a town somewhere in New England where each winter the townspeople cut blocks of ice to store until the summer when they would make homemade ice cream. It had been done for decades (this was probably in the 1970s/80s). Don’t remember the name of the town. Of course Charles Kuralt had a great voice and a wonderful way with words and stories.
Cindy Brick says
This was common in the area of Michigan (near Grand Rapids) where I grew up. Usually a special building or storage area was used for the ice blocks, which were cut from lakes in the winter.
That ice helped make homemade ice cream in the sultry summers that part of Michigan had, over and over. Sleeping upstairs was no party…so we’d sleep on the porch outside and watch the fireflies before we snoozed off.
(Colorado doesn’t have that many fireflies, darn it…)
Joey Miller says
There is an ice cutting weekend in Maine – Thompson Ice – Feb 15 in South Bristol – well worth going!
Mavis Butterfield says
Oh wow! Thank you!!
SueD says
I visited the local restoration village one winter and they were harvesting ice from their pond. Sawdust from the saw mill on site provided insulation.
Linda Sand says
My grandparents had an ice box but by the time I was old enough to recognize what it was Grandpa had it in his woodshop storing tools.
Barbara Dougherty says
I remember going to the ice house for blocks of ice, lol. Florida. We used it for lots of things, of course, but our ice cream maker was top of the list.