PHOTO PROVIDED Shown is a saw that was used for ice harvesting.

With the bitter cold weather we experienced in January, the popular toboggan slide at Eagles Mere has again been built. Our frigid temperatures during the month of January allowed the ice on the lake to be frozen enough for the toboggan slide.

This is the first time in 11 years.

The volunteer fire company worked through the very cold days of January to build the slide. On the day the slide was to open, the temperature warmed and we had rain. Due to this, the scheduled opening date was cancelled.

However, the temperature began to drop and on February first (only one day late) the slide opened.

During the freezing temperatures in January, many organizations in the northern and southern tiers of Pennsylvania and New York held old fashioned ice harvests and ice sculpturing.

After harvesting the ice from a pond or lake, the ice was stored in an icehouse. The ice stored in these special houses would not only be used commercially but also in family ice boxes, a necessity in the warm heat of summer to help preserve food.

An old poster hanging on the wall of the Troy Sale Barn reads “Notice skating is forbidden on this pond until the icehouse is filled. M. Spalding and Company.”

Along with the poster was an antique ice saw and a pair of antique skates. Both the skates, poster and ice saw are from another era. Harvesting ice in olden times was hard work but a necessity to our ancestors.

At first, big blocks of ice were cut by hand from frozen lakes and ponds. Later, horses pulling special cutting plows would cut these blocks of ice. The ice blocks were floated to the shore and then pulled up a ramp into the icehouse. The icehouse was usually built on the shore of the lake or pond and had thick walls that were filled with sawdust. The sawdust acted as insulation and kept the summer’s heat away from the ice.

In rural areas, a family might have their own icehouse or share one with several neighbors during the winter months. In the cities, large commercial ice houses were built, which were often 300 feet long and five stories high. In these commercial operations, scrapers were used to clean the ice of snow and dirt.

Then, a machine called a marker made an outline on the ice, marking the blocks, which were to be cut. The marker would cut a series of straight grooves about three feet apart, up and down the pond. Then, it was drawn crosswise on the pond, marking parallel groves the same distance apart. This would mark out squares of ice. Then, a plow, which had a steel bar fitted with a set of sharp knives, followed along behind the marker.

It cut grooves even deeper, so that it was easy to pry the cakes of ice loose with an ice spud and float them to shore through channels in the ice. Later, power saws were used in place of the plow. Once the ice was in the icehouse it was packed with saw-

dust. At one time, ice was a big business. It was first transported in 1799 from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina. In the early 1800’s, there was quite a trade in natural ice.

Ice from New England was shipped as far as the West Indies and India.

Then, in 1834, Jacob Perkins invented the ice machine. The first artificial ice plant was set up in 1868 in New Orleans. In the same year, the first refrigerator railroad cars were built, and by 1930, 165,000 refrigerator cars were in use on American railroads.

As a young boy, I remember the iceman bringing ice to our house. The big blocks of ice were carried on the back of a truck. The iceman would take an ice pick and chip off the amount my mother wanted for our ice box. Then, the iceman would put a leather thong on his shoulder and use his ice tongs to pick up the chunk of ice, place it on his shoulder and take it inside, where it was put in the icebox.

We kids would always gather around the back of the truck, hoping we would be given a sliver of ice. If there were not enough small pieces of ice to go around, our iceman would chip some off a big block to make sure each of us had a piece of ice. Our iceman was more popular than the ice cream man since ice chips were free.

The formation of ice on the surfaces of ponds and lakes protects animal life beneath. Ponds lose their heat from the surface, and as they cool, the cold-water sinks until the entire pond is at a temperature of about 39 degrees Fahrenheit. As the water on the top of the pond becomes colder, it becomes lighter and remains on top instead of sinking. This top water freezes when it cools to 32 degrees.

Since ice is lighter than water, it floats. Immediately below the ice, the water is slightly warmer than freezing. Towards the bottom of the pond the temperature all winter long remains at approximately 39 degrees.

In this warmer water, fish, amphibians, turtles and other forms of life in the pond can remain active during the most severe winters.

Today, we put antifreeze in our automobiles to keep the water in the radiators from freezing. Alcohol was used because it was much cheaper than antifreeze, which was not readily available. The problem with alcohol was that it would get hot and boil over. Inflamed engines were quite common in those days. A lower thermostat had to be installed in the car if alcohol was to be used. Even so, when going up a steep hill, the engine would sometimes overheat.

Many times I’ve seen people ice fishing on the Susquehanna River. Even though the river is not completely frozen over, some ice fishermen/women will venture out onto the ice, sometimes dangerously close to the edge.

To be considered safe, the ice should be four inches thick.

Gathering ice during January and February is one of the many chores we no longer need to do. Demonstrations on filling the icehouse are now done to show what life was like for our ancestors. Older folk that helped in harvesting ice will tell you that they don’t remember a winter without ice thick enough to harvest. They would also mention that winters were more severe back then.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.