Valley Girl Views: The Ice Harvests In The Central Susquehanna Valley

Ice Harvest Milton Pa

When "ice boxes" were the primary method for storing food, the annual Ice Harvest would typically last from a week to a month. Pennsylvania once ranked third in the nation for ice production, behind only Maine and New York.

Prior to 1850, smoking and drying were the primary means for preserving food. From 1860 to 1930, ice boxes became increasingly popular. By the 1930s, electric refrigerators were beginning to replace the ice boxes, although ice harvests continued throughout the valley into the early 1950s.

1914 advertisement from the Williamsport Sun Gazette

Listing Refrigerators by the amount of ice they could hold. By the end of the 19th century, ice refrigerators were considered the proper way to preserve foods. The best ice boxes were made of oak, with a cork lining between the wood and inside liner. The ice compartment was always at the top of the container, with a drip pan at the bottom that needed emptied daily.

Many of the ice workers would be lumbermen in the summer. The ice harvest, lasting from a week to a month at most, was a great opportunity for lumber men to make some extra money during the winter season. They would cut 100 pound blocks of ice, while standing on the rim of an open hole.

James F. Satteson cutting ice at Yocums Pond, a former clay pit, in Milton Pa.

The ice barn in the background is falling down - this was near the end of the era of ice harvesting in Milton.

Pennsylvania once ranked third in the nation for ice production, behind only Maine and New York. In mild winters, ice would be shipped to this the area from the Poconos.

The Miltonian, 1/6/1927

At cutting time, the snow was removed by horse-drawn plows with grooved edges that scored the ice into 3-foot rows. Men then sawed the ice into squares.

Ice Harvest on Penns Creek, with the New Berlin Mill in the background

Ice would be harvested from the river, mill ponds, and farm ponds. Excavation by brick makers created large holes that filled in with water and made many of the ponds in the Milton area. Yocums pond, a popular ice skating spot in later years, is one example of such a pond.

Ice Cutting on the Bennet Mansion Pond, Danville PA

Ice would be removed from the river, and ponds by horse and wagon. From there it would be stored in Ice Houses.

Delcamp's Economy Ice Company 352 Ferry Street, Danville Pa.

Delcamp's sold Pocono Mountain Spring Ice, "from pure spring water in which there were no contaminating qualities."

Satteson Ice House, located at the rear of 452 Cherry Alley, Milton

The icehouse floor would be covered with 10 inches of sawdust, to provide insulation. After the blocks of ice were placed, additional sawdust would be spread over them as added insulation.

William Penny's Ice Wagon, Milton Pa. William Penny and Michael Farley were brick makers in Milton. Penny built an ice house at the rear of the Penny homestead on Cherry Street. He called his company Mountain Water Ice, as the water in his pond was replenished with town water furnished by the White Deer Water Company.

Ice dealers would then use a horse and wagon to deliver ice to their customers. Ice would be chipped off with an ice pick, and picked up with 15 inch tongs.

Ice Harvest Tools

The tongs could span a 45 inch block of ice, and were used to mark the size of the block. The ice would be hoisted onto the burlap covered shoulder or hip of the ice man.

James Satteson shown holding a block of ice, in tongs.

Satteson Ice House, located at the rear of 452 Cherry Alley, Milton

In 1919, ice dealers were instructed that they must use scales to properly weigh the ice they were selling.

Smith's Ice Wagon, in Hughesville Pa. Bob & Harry Croman at the rear of the wagon, possibly Bruce inside. Robert Croman (1867-1950) of Hughesville married Cora Smith, one of the twin daughters of Francis & Sarah [Frontz] Smith.

The ice man would make daily deliveries, and a yellow card placed in the customer’s window would indicate 10, 15, 20, 25 or NO, letting the ice man know how much was needed.

Children would run behind the ice wagon, hoping for chips of ice. And occasionally they would jump on to the back of the wagon.

1926 Advertisement in the Lewisburg Journal, for the Kelvinator

A device to change your ice box to an electric refrigerator.

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Ice Harvest Reenactment

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In 1993, Bill Leonard Sr had a dream of building an ice house to reenact what was once a major industry in Tobyhanna. The Tobyhanna Ice Harvest is held annually, weather permitting. Find the details on their facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/millpondiceharvest

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Ice Harvest Stories By Town

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Danville

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Ice Dealers:

J. L. Kline 316 Nassau Street

Arthur M. Peters 285 Mill Street

William Shepperson 725 East Market Street

 A. Delcamp (Economy Ice Co.)

 J. Milton Ammerman.

J.A. Lawrence

Steam powered elevator at Mahoning Creek, raising ice from the dam.

In 1904, J.A. Lawrence installed a steam-powered elevator at the Mahoning Creek dam to raise the ice from the dam to the cinder tip, today the site of the Continental Fire Company.

In 1914, Lawrence cut 400 tons of ice a day, to be used throughout the summer in local homes, hotels, and businesses. In a good year, he cut and stored 3,500 tons of ice in two storage buildings. Approximately 30 men were employed at the dam, cutting, lifting and storing the ice.

Ice cutting operation on East Front Street, just east of Mill street in Danville. That operation is shown here in front of Wyant's lunch room, which as located at 2 East Front Street.

A second ice house was located where the Continental Fire Company now stands, taking ice off Mahoning Creek at the Lawrence Dam. A turn of the century map of South Danville shows an ice house behind the Susquehanna Hotel across D. & H. Avenue from the South Danville Railroad

On Feb. 15, 1932, the Dewart Milk Co. installed an ice-making plant on Spring Street in Danville. The facility had a daily capacity of 15 to 20 tons, and the water was filtered and tested. In March of that year, not a pound of ice was harvested in the area because of an unusually mild winter. Lawrence made an agreement with Dewart Milk Co.’s ice plant to supply Danville with ice. This was the first time Danville depended on artificial ice.

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Lewisburg

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Weidensaul & Angstadt opened an Ice house below the river bridge in 1863.

In 1884, "Merry James Wensed" was serving nearly 100 customers daily, with nice clear ice at one half cent per a pound.

In Lewisburg in May of 1897, Mr George Flick started an ice wagon and "is now prepared to serve the public with pure ice."

George P. Stein, ice drealer in Lewisburg, "is planning to have an ice pond at the foot of Beck's Hill, large enough to enable him to fill his house in one cutting." - 1914

July 28 1925

HAROLD ROYER HAS THRILLING EXPERIENCE TUESDAY. On Tuesday morning as Harold Royer, driver of the Dieffenderfer ice wagon, was crossing the Reading railroad tracks at the Buffalo Mills with a load' of ice, one of the harness traces broke which left the horse and wagon stranded on the crossing with a freight train approaching from the north.

The young man waved frantically to the engineer, who fortunately had his train under control thus bringing it to a stop not many yards from the ice wagon. With the aid of the train crew who helped repair the broken harness, the young man proceeded none the worse for his experience excepting a bad scare.

In 1937, there was a fire burned the barn at the Swanger farm. "it is believed the fire started in the old ice house, which was not in use for several years."

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Milton

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Henry Harris Ice Dealer

Thomas & James [son] Satteson - ice dealer with ice houses at Lincoln and Cherry streets, and later at Yocums pond.

The only ice dealer listed in Milton in 1870 was Henry Harris, who likely supplied ice only to the hotels and restaurants, not to households.

1894 Photo, 544 Lincoln Street Milton Pa

Wilson Studio took this photo while standing on the south log basin looking northwest to the new Lincoln Street School on 4th street.

Captain Thomas Satteson has his back turned, breaking loose scored ice cakes.

James Satteson, Thomas son is on his right

The ice is being scored by a horse drawn ice plow

ACF purchased this land from Murray & Douglas Co, filled in the basin, and on this site constructed a modern tank car shop.

In Milton, the VFW at the corner of Turbot Avenue and Park Avenue was formerly an ice house.

Ice pond at Brown's Lane, about 1909

This man-made ice pond on Brown's lane, now Brown Avenue, was owned by various companies. Problems with ice harvested from polluted ponds and, river, etc, lead to ice companies filling ponds with spring or white deer mountain water, for ice harvests. In 1946, White Deer Water Company owned the 8 7/8 acres. They sold it to the borough of Milton for $600.

April 23rd 1923, Fire at the large ice houses at the southeast of town in Milton. The White Deer Mountain Water Company, who owned the ice houses, was expected to tear them down that summer, as "the wide use of artificial ice having replaced natural ice to such an extent that the business is no longer profitable."

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Northumberland

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William Hoover

September 28th 1883

William Hoovers Ice wagon nearly struck by a passenger train in Northumberland at "the horn".

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Shamokin Dam Area

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Shamokin Dam Recalls Old-Time Ice Harvests

February 1955

The recent cold weather recalled the "old days" when Shamokin Dam residents harvested ice from the Susquehanna, hauling it to the ice houses at the old lock, Ferry House, Keensville Hotel a many area farm homes. These Ice harvests were frolics lor young and old, as the youngsters were often allowed to hitch their sleds to the bobsleds drawn by horses to and from the river.

Oldsters also recall riding to the ferry house and across the river on these sleds and back again on a foot or more of crystal clear Ice. When the children tired of this they would grab their skates and go down to the old canal stop lock and on to Selinsgrove,. or up the river to . Northumberland or across to Sunbury.

Schools would, visit each other at least once a year on bob sleds. sleighing parties and spelling bees during the evening. In the bob sled filled with straw and covered with blankets, the children of ten rode 10 miles or more. During that time the children often , walked " across six foot drifts" for a distance of several miles' to school.

If the weather became too bad farmers would take turns transporting the child ren to school on their sleds. Sleighing parties were held on the old "three cornered field" on the Trexler farm, or down the Clement's Park hill past the Ferry House and out on the Susquehanna.

Many doctors would visit their patients by crossing fields on horseback, arriving quicker than the person who came for him by horse and sleigh by the roads.

Sunbury Area

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Rohrback & Son

Rohrbach and Son Ice Harvest

Sunbury

1/16/1896

1908

1919 Refrigerator [ice box] advertisement, in Sunbury

Williamsport Area

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The first public ice wagon to run in Williamsport was began by John E. Jones in 1858, a Lewisburg native who had moved to Williamsport in 1853. He later opened the Jones & Agold hardware store.

THE ICE HARVEST.

Marking Out Began on the Reservoir Saturday [December 29th 1900]

The weather this year has been very favorable to the opening of the harvest early in January.

There are new six inches of ice on Laurade's reservoir on the South Side, and on Saturday the work of marking out was begun. The work of cutting and housing will not begin until the ice is eight inches thick.

AL Thompson's ice field, near his houses on the South Side, several rafts were located. These were cut out after the ice had formed and for that reason the ice is not quite so thick at that point it is at other points in the river. The space has been frozen over again and the quality of the new ice is excellent.

On Lycoming creek the ice is of good quality. It is hoped that the weather will continue to be cold enough to freeze well and that the ice harvest can soon begin. A large force of men will then find employment for some weeks. The crop to be laid in this year will be larger as the past season completely cleaned out the ice houses.

1905 - Lamade's Ice Wagon in accident

1908

On August 1st 1908, an ice wagon plunged through the rotten timbers of the recently repaired Maynard Street Bridge.

1915

Ice Wagon Broken Down on Market Street

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Ice Harvest News By Year

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On March 5, 1931, the Danville Morning News reported that the Lawrence Ice Co. showed that over 25 years, from 1902 to 1927, there wasn’t a season when the normal harvest of 3,500 tons of ice was not cut locally. From 1928-1932, only one full crop was harvested.

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In 1883, a team of horses broke through the ice in Danville Pa. It took more than an hour to rescue them.