A Chilly Harvest Endures
Volunteers prepare their pikes to catch a 300-pound block of ice hurtling down the ramp connecting the pond from which it was just cut to the ice house where it will remain through the hot summer. This harvest is done to keep the history of ice harvest alive. This ice house traditionally served fishermen, but ice houses were critical to the early development of the U.S. dairy industry. Dairymen with a source of ice could ship their products further to better markets.
Ice houses were critical to the early development of the U.S. dairy industry and a side income for many farms. Dairymen with a source of ice could ship their products further to better markets. Today ice harvest is mostly done to keep tradition alive and to supply carving ice to hunting and farm stay businesses.
