When folks used to save winter for summer

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:

It is not uncommon today for a home to be outfitted with a refrigerator that dispenses water and ice without having to even open its door. Today’s convenient devices are no longer the luxury item they once were.

It was not until after the Second World War that the household ‘ice box’ was replaced with a refrigerator or a ‘deep freeze’. Locally, the business of ice was still a going concern well into the 1960s. In 1950, both the annual Vernon’s City Directory and Sault Star feature listings for the Purity Ice business and advertisements for ice boxes, respectively. 

While the wooden iceboxes of yesteryear make for unique storage for the likes of books and memorabilia today, they were once the repository for a uniquely harvested commodity.

They harken back to a day when man, beast and eventually machines worked tirelessly in the elements to ‘save winter for summer’ in the harvesting of 100-pound blocks of ice. The annual winter ice harvest is well documented over the years by the Sault Star.

An article entitled Taste of Superior Ice Makes Cutting Worthwhile by E. Chapman published on April 3, 1961, in the Sault Star, relates an interesting account of ice harvesting along the shores of Lake Superior in the Batchawana area.

Mr. E. Chapman writes of the more modern approach to ‘getting up the ice’ used by Mr. Alex Elie. 

Elie, a well-known gentleman of the area was employed by residents to gather their annual ice crops. It is recorded that in the spring of ’61 he used a chainsaw to make that year’s cuts into the frozen lake which Elie himself noted was “a vast improvement over the old hand sawing method where long buck saws were used.“ 

The introduction of the chainsaw certainly allowed for quicker cutting times but it did little to alleviate the physical strain of the job. As the ice harvester said, he was, “sure glad to be able to really straighten out my back, remarks Alex.  The worst problem, he explains, is the actual cutting of the ice with the chain saw, which entails bending almost double to reach it (the ice) and cut the big blocks down in the lake water.” 

Before the advent of the chainsaw, it was commonplace to see a lone cutter, or crews of cutters, operating the large, toothy saws as the metal blades dipped in and out of the frozen surfaces of area waterways. Just the blade of a bucksaw could be as long as 42 inches, not including the handle. One can only assume that the men employed in ice harvesting were largely sought after as teammates on summertime baseball teams.

Of course, the job did not end once the blocks were cut. Prior to the introduction of trucks and heavy equipment in Northern Ontario, hauling of ice blocks to the large sheds or barn was largely done with the aid of horse teams and sleighs or dog sled teams. 

Further north up the shoreline from Batchawana Bay, it is reported that Mr. Russell Beardon of Mamainse Harbour was known to have used his ‘huge Big Dane sleigh dogs’ to haul his supply of ice blocks in winters past. 

It is worth mentioning that in a separate article in the Sault Star from March 16, 1925, Mr. Frank Roussain reported that while harvesting ice at Mamainse Harbour.

“They heard wolves howling daily while they were at work on the ice and at times they seemed very near, close to the shore. Wolves were not afraid to cross their trail during the day. One evening a pack followed them to the house where they (the wolves) kept up a continuous chorus all night within 100 yards of the dwelling,” he said.

Can you imagine contending with a workplace that was plagued with constant cold, wet gear and the very real threat of drowning and then being followed home by a pack of hungry wolves? 

Downstream from Superior, commercial ice businesses such as Purity Ice or Superior Ice located in Sault Ste. Marie would employ dozens of cutters and multiple horse teams annually. Various articles from the early days of the Sault Star up until the 1960s also make mention of farmers in communities such as Rydal Bank, Kentvale, Portlock and Iron Bridge working in teams to cut ice to keep their dairy farms’ milk harvests cold and fresh.

In the 1961 article mentioned above, the writer noted that ice in Batchawana Bay was stored as it had been for many, many decades: carefully packed in and covered with sawdust to prevent this essential and 'precious commodity' from melting in the heat of the spring and summer months. 

Electrically-chilled freezers had yet to make their way to the shores of this vast inland sea thus the storage technique of the ice was just as important as the harvesting. Ice was an integral part of the local economy used by area residents as well as tourists. 

People would ‘put up ice’ for their household use, hoping to have enough laid by to last until the following winter. The commercial fishermen of the Batchawana area required an abundance of ice to keep their catch fresh and allow for its safe storage and transportation. 

Those fortunate enough to have visited the fishery at Mamainse Harbour in the early 1970s to purchase fresh and smoked fish will recall the glistening white beds of chipped ice that whole or filets of whitefish and trout lay upon, awaiting a hungry traveller’s purchase.

Sport fishermen who frequented Superior for its prime fishing experience also required ice to keep their day’s catch chilled until returning to shore or their homes further away. Tourists who vacationed at resorts such as the Batchawana Club located near the Chippewa River required ice to store their perishables safely, as did campers who frequented the area. 

“With the great increase in campers comes a growing demand for ice to be used in tent and trailer ice-boxes” as the area’s popularity as a summer recreation destination increased.

Lastly, ice was also in demand to chill a drink on a hot summer’s afternoon. What could be finer than a few cubes of Lake Superior ice clinking in a tall glass of freshly squeezed lemonade, beads of perspiration slowly dripping down the sides?

A visitor from Akron, Ohio, Mr. James Atwood when speaking with columnist Chapman back in April of ’61 said it best perhaps, “I like the flavour of good old Lake Superior water – and when on vacation we use it, of course: we always think it’s just a little extra special.  The kids crunch the ice cubes we put in their glasses just like they would candy back home.“

One cannot help but agree that indeed, hand-harvested Lake Superior ice was truly something to experience be you on the business end of the bucksaw or as the happy sipper partaking of an ice-cold refreshment. 

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here