Brrrrrr ! Windchill of minus 12 degrees! More snow in the forecast?

It’s that time of year again when the celebrating and feasting of the winter holidays is past and we may actually NEED to use that new pair of insulated gloves and cozy scarf. Or perhaps we are anxious to try out that new pair of skis, snowboard, snowshoes or sled.

It wasn’t that many years ago when frozen lakes and ponds were filled with happy skaters and a few hearty ice fishermen, but also busy with industrious workers harvesting their “winter crop,” ICE!

Before electric refrigeration was widely available in the late 1940s ice was used to keep food from spoiling both commercially and in the home. The kitchen ice box was a common sight as was the ice man delivering the large blocks of ice that kept things cool.

The links below will take you to two ACM News articles that explore the history of ice production on Lake Gardner which began shortly after the Salisbury Mills Company finished construction of their dam in 1872.

The articles were researched and written by Meghan Fahey, a former member of the Amesbury Carriage Museum Board of Directors and currently archivist at the Amesbury Public Library. Meghan is pleased to see them offered again.

Joseph Pray, H.H. Bean and Sons, and the Lake Gardner Ice Company were all companies that harvested ice and kept this important industry going for almost 100 years.

The stories are as interesting and relevant today and help us understand what life was like not so long ago.

Larry Pearl
ACM Volunteer

In the Dead of Winter - Part I

In the Dead of Winter - Part II