Ice 42 | Ice

Story by Steve A. Maze Photo provided by the author

Grandpa had a problem with ice – but not the highly addictive form we’ve sadly come to know in recent years.

Grandpa’s biggest problem with ice was how to prevent it from melting before placing it in a glass of sweet tea or in the water jug he took to the field each morning.

Ice is something the majority of us take for granted these days. We simply walk up to our refrigerator and press a glass against the ice dispenser on the door. The crushed or quarter moon-shaped ice comes tumbling out, and we pour our favorite beverage over it.

Things weren’t so simple before electricity reached rural North Alabama in the 1940s. Before that, ice – or rather the availability of it – was considered a luxury at the time.

Grandpa had to hitch a pair of mules to his wagon and travel 15 miles to purchase a 100-pound block of ice. A tow sack was draped around the ice to shield it from the hot sun during the return trip.

Then there was the matter of how to preserve it once the wagon rattled up to Grandpa’s farm.

He first dug a dirt pit in the side-shed of his barn. The block of ice was then placed inside a wooden crate, which was lowered into the pit. Cottonseed or sawdust was packed around the ice to serve as insulation.

A tow sack was placed on top of the ice block to keep dirt from getting on it. And finally, boards were placed across the top of the crate and dirt thrown over them to provide more insulation.

Ice stored in that manner lasted about a week.

Armed with an ice pick and dishpan, Grandma would walk down to the barn and chip off enough ice to fill tea and water glasses. A little dust and grime would settle on the frozen block of ice when the boards, tow sack and dirt was removed, so the ice had to be washed off before it was dropped in the drinking glasses.

To receive a sliver of the cold refreshment was considered a special treat by my dad and his siblings.

But the biggest treat was the Fourth of July when Grandpa used the ice to make homemade ice cream. Sliced peaches or strawberries would be added to the vanilla and milk ice cream mixture to create a variety of flavors.

Once the ice cream and headaches from eating it too fast disappeared, the fun still wasn’t over. The salty ice used to make the frosty treat would be eaten and enjoyed almost as much as the ice cream itself.

Before electricity was introduced to our area, country stores were able to sell cold soft drinks from a metal storage container that held crushed ice. The preferred manner for crushing it was to hit the ice bag with a hammer or drop it on the hard floor.

The availability of ice was much greater for those living in big cities.

There, ice would be harvested from local ponds and lakes during the winter months and delivered directly to homes by the iceman in a horse-drawn wagon. This “natural” ice was later replaced by “manufactured” ice that had been made in plants.

Ice companies supplied their suburban customers with ice cards listing the amount of ice they needed delivered.

The one-sided cards usually listed the number of pounds of ice (25, 50, 75 or 100) to be delivered. A wife would place the card in a window facing the street with the desired weight turned upward.

The card was visible as the iceman made his way down the street toward a customer’s home. This was especially important when delivering to apartment buildings since he didn’t want to needlessly

Oh, the efforts they once undertook for the exquisitely cool, refreshing, relief of... Ice

Those living in more populated areas back in the day enjoyed the modern convenience of deliveries by the ice man in his horse-drawn wagon.

lug a huge block of ice up a long flight of steps.

Only after reading the card would the iceman then grab his ice tongs, throw the desired amount of ice over his shoulder and make his delivery.

Most housewives stored their ice in store-bought iceboxes that were usually insulated with mineral wood, charcoal or cork. The interior was finished with galvanized metal, wood or porcelain while the outer wall was finished in wood or metal.

Melted water flowed from a drain into a pan underneath the icebox. Since the pan had to be emptied rather frequently, most wives placed their iceboxes on the back porch in case the pan overflowed.

In a scene resembling mice following the Pied Piper, neighborhood children would chase after the ice wagon and beg for slivers of ice chopped from the main block. More often than not, the iceman would accommodate them.

The arrival of electricity in 1943 made life much easier for my grandparents and others living in our area.

Most people eventually purchased refrigerators, which meant they no longer had to cool gallon jugs of milk by lowering them into their wells. Refrigerators also came with a small freezer compartment that allowed folks to make their own ice.

Metal ice trays that came with the refrigerator were simply filled with water and placed in the freezer. The cubes were frozen within a few hours and ready for use.

Unfortunately, these early refrigerators were not “frost free” and the freezer compartment would often freeze over to the point that the ice could not be removed.

Grandma mostly defrosted her refrigerator by unplugging it. Then she would take a knife and gouge at the ice and rake as much as she could into a dishpan.

Even though there was a drain pan at the bottom of the refrigerator, it would usually overflow at some point during the defrosting and leave water all over the kitchen floor to be mopped up.

Cleaning up after defrosting a refrigerator was an aggravating chore … but it sure beat going down to the barn to chip off a little ice from a slowly melting, 100-pound block buried in the ground. Get surprisingly great Home & Auto rates.

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