042
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Title
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042
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Transcription
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There is a lot of snow on the ground. The wind and cold have made the snow very hard, and the horses hoofs squeak as they walk on the snow, as I lead them to the wagon. I try to start, but the wheels are frozen to the ground, and it is necessary to turn the team from left to right and work the front wheels loose. We start off at a fast walk, with the wheels squealing when the iron tires turn in the cold snow.
The lake where we cut the ice is only three miles from the ice house, and we are soon unloading. Dad and our neighbor, Clint Jones , mark out the blocks that are to be cut. Then with the saws, we cut out blocks of ice that are about 30 inches by 20 inches. The blocks will be from 6 to 8 inches thick, depending on how cold it has been, and will weigh from 75 to 85 lbs.
The wagon will hold a ton or about 24 blocks of ice. The team can easily pull that much if they don't slip. We haul the load to the ice house and pack the cut blocks into one large block that nearly fills the house. We then fill in around the large block with sawdust, and put lots of straw or hay on top. This will not be opened until warm weather comes. When we open the ice we take from one corner, and then re-cover. We can expect the ice that was packed in January to last until late July or August.
Usually filling the ice house was not an exciting job. There was a lot of hard work in cold weather, but we could always keep warm while working. This wasn't always true for the horses we used, they had to stand while we filled the wagon. We normally unhitched the team, but one day there was a lot of ice close to the wagon and I didn't think it would take long to load, so I left them hitched. This was mistake, a dog chased a rabbit in front of the team, and frightened them, they started to run with the wagon half full of ice, and they didn't stop until the reached home. There were blocks of ice strewn along the way. I had to walk home, but there was no damage to the wagon.
All the cold weather and hard work was forgotten by the 4th of July. Home made ice cream has a way of making you forget your troubles.
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Rights
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Metzger Memories
