When my gggrandfather John Ellis Shere first came to Yorktown, Illinois from Albion, New York his occupation was an ice man.
Blocks of ice were purchased from the iceman to place in the wooden ice boxes that pioneers used. There was a metal compartment inside the wooden chest type box that held the block of ice. There was a tube attached to a drain that sent the water from the melted ice to a tray underneath the ice box.
This picture is of an antique wooden ice box- today they are a highly collectible, expensive antique.
Ice was sold by the pound and was chipped off of a big block with a chisel and ice pick and carried to the customers house with a big set of tongs- ice tongs.
Like the milk man the ice man was in great demand in pioneer days!
I enjoyed the post about your gggrandfather the ice man. My mother lived during the time of ice deliveries, and would often tell how the ice man was nice enough to chip some ice off for the kids in the house to have some treats. She said he was so skilled at chipping the blocks of ice that hardly a chip flew off -- thus his kindness in pretending to "slip" with the chisel and having enough chips for the kids!!!
ReplyDeletePunkin- How wonderful your Mom remebered about having an ice man! Isn't it great to hear these old stories! If kids today would think that piece of ice was a treat wouldn't it be wonderful! To enjoy the simple things in life is a blessing!
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