By the year 1925, home delivery of factory-made ice was a welcome modern-day convenience. The ice man was an important and much anticipated part of daily life. According to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia: “An ice man is someone who sells or delivers ice from a wagon, cart, or motor-truck. The profession was formerly much more common. From the late 19th century to mid 20th century, in cities and towns, icemen would commonly make daily rounds delivering ice for iceboxes before the electric domestic refrigerator became ubiquitous.”
Sitting in our homes today, the younger generations know only the luxury of walking to the refrigerator and grabbing what they like. They open the freezer, or better yet, push the “ice” button and ice drops into their glass. Boy, what did they miss?
“I do remember the ice man and the card that was placed in the window or somewhere that would allow it to be seen and alert him to our need for ice, but only when we could occasionally afford it,” recalled Char Borsellino. “I also remember the wooden ice box in our kitchen accepting and storing it, but it still remains a mystery to me as to how long it took for this large cube of ice to melt. I do remember my mother discarding the water that had drained into some sort of receptacle beneath it. There was an ice pick to chip the ice if a small piece was needed and it was placed somewhere in the ice box. Needless to say, those were NOT the good old days compared to the luxury of convenience we enjoy today. During the ice-man era I was one of three children in a very poor family in Illinois, headed by a young widowed mother...convenience is a wonderful asset.”
Barbara Russell of Bonita Springs, Florida, has awesome tales to tell also. She was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and looked forward to the days the ice man would visit. “Square signs indicated what size block of ice was needed — from 25, 50, 75 to100 pounds. You would turn the number indicating the pounds needed to the top of the sign. He would deliver the ice to the kitchen and if no was at home, he would go in and place it in the ice box.
“Outside we kids would gather to get slivers of chipped ice. The ice man had a truck and when he stepped away we would reach in back and get slivers that came from the blocks he chopped.” She remembers well the worn wood bed of his truck “It felt good to get near the ice on hot days. We would lean over the truck bed because the ice so was so nice and cold.”
Most memories picture the ice man in a heavy black apron with a black sling over his shoulder in which he would carry the ice. He was usually brawny due to the physical demands of the occupation. His tools were a hook, a pick and tongs, to name a few. Amazingly he would know everyone on his route by name.
Tom Schroer, who grew up in Ohio says, “I remember straw being used between the layers of ice in the wagon in order to prevent the layers from fusing together. A careless ice man would bring straw to your icebox, thus incurring the wrath of a meticulous housekeeper. In larger towns and cities, the card in the window also had the ice company's name in the middle so the delivery man would know his customers. Yes, there were turf wars.”
What do you remember about this man? Close your eyes and take yourself away, back in time…enjoy!