Village Memories: The Ice Box

Do you ever think about what people did before electric refrigeration? How did they keep the milk from going sour or the food from spoiling? There are lots of ways to keep food fresh in the heat of the summer without electricity. For example, you could keep it in a bucket down the well, or store it in a cool root cellar underground. But, around this neck of the woods, folks often had an ice box and an ice house. In this video, Ford Webber shares how they would head out in the middle of winter and cut blocks of ice from the lake or pond and store them in sawdust in an ice house to use throughout the summer, just like we do here at the Village. Long-time volunteer, Art, demonstrates how we pull an ice block out every day during the visitor season and the ice harvest lasts us all summer, as long as it is properly packed and stored. Memory Lane celebrated its 20th anniversary on July 1st, 2020. Many thanks to our community – to our volunteers, visitors, and supporters over the past two decades – for their hard work and support.