Orrington - Folks could witness a re-enactment of ice harvesting in Orrington Saturday.

The Curran Homestead Living History Farm and Museum hosted the event.

Organizers say it's important for kids to see how much effort life required in years past.

They say the response was great and many folks came out to see how it was done.

The Currans had a small dairy operation and they would use the ice they cut on the pond to keep their milk cool during the summer before refrigeration came into play.

"The first thing that has to be done is the ice needs to be cleared of any snow that has drifted over on top. Once that's done there's a checker board pattern that is scored on the ice and then individual ice cakes are cut out with a saw and lifted on to a sled. They would be stored in an ice house which was a specialized barn that had very thick walls that were filled with sawdust for insulation and then sawdust would be placed on the individual ice cakes to keep them from sticking," Said Bruce Bowden, the vice president of Curran Homestead, Inc.

They say the ice would last throughout the summer and into the fall.

Eventually they would like to restore the old ice house and be able to store some of the ice in it.

Print this Story

Recent Stories