Rick Smith of Stroudsburg was the speaker at the Nov. 9 meeting of the Palmerton Area Historical Society. His subject was ice harvesting, mainly in the Poconos. He is an avid collector of the old tools used in the harvests.

He has loaned tools to Lakeville Ice Museum, Lake Wallenpaupack; to Bill Leonard of Tobyhanna, who has a small-scale harvest in January or February depending on the weather; and to Quiet Valley Historical Farm.Dr. James Kitchen along Route 940 had a small harvest and a great collection of tools. In 1990 he made a video, which was shown at the meeting.He said the ice industry in Monroe County was doomed from the start because it was already being replaced with artificial refrigeration.In 1851 ice was harvested to cool yellow fever patients when it was called room refrigeration rather than air conditioning.The first ice to be shipped a long distance was to the Carolinas, but two-thirds of it melted before it got there.Sudenham Palmer of Stroudsburg was the first to harvest, store and deliver ice beginning in 1874.By 1879 there were 35 commercial ice harvests in the United States which grew to 2,000 over the next 19 years. The harvests peaked between 1909 and 1911.Ice houses were as large as a football field and 50 feet high. Because of their height they frequently burned. The Gouldsboro ice house burned, but the pile of ice remained well into summer. The foundation of the ice house at Brady's Lake can still be seen.The American Ice Company at Lake Naomi built a huge ice house, but it burned.Mountain Ice Company bought the rights to many of the lakes and leased others, including Saylors Lake in Saylorsburg.The Poconos had many streams but few lakes. However, the streams had been dammed for the timber industry, so they were in place for ice harvesting. Some timbering was still going on, such as for a clothespin factory, but basically logging was coming to an end.In 1910 the ice cost six cents a ton and sold for $1 to customers in 100-pound blocks. Mechanically made ice was purer, but natural ice was cheaper. Brewers were the first to switch from natural ice to refrigeration because of the pollution.One company certified that their ice was pure, but it was not. Ice companies also advertised that "A block of ice never goes out of order."Domestic Electric Refrigeration was the first company to make large amounts of ice mechanically. Gifford-Wood made metal tools for all industries, including ice.The harvest started after Christmas when the lakes were usually frozen to a 14-inch thickness. Blocks were cut 22-by-32-by-14 inches thick and weighing 300 pounds.Snow and slush had to be removed before cutting began. First it was done with horses, and after World War I by mechanical means.Harvesters received 30 cents an hour. A buzz saw would cut two-thirds of the way though the ice, and a large block was floated toward the waterbox at the base of the conveyor. The ice house was filled from the bottom with the conveyor moved up as the house filled. Sawdust was used as insulation. When a train load was shipped out, the sawdust could be returned and reused.In the waterbox at the base of the conveyor, the blocks were broken off from the float and fed to the conveyor. If a block was not perfect and smooth, it would be pushed out of line because they had to stack smoothly. The people doing this were called chuck boys.Since the canals and water box had to be kept free of ice, some men had to work overnight. By the time the ice was cut as far out as reasonable, it could be started over again near the waterbox.After an ice house was filled, ice would be loaded directly into rail cars and shipped.The Wilkes-Barre and Easton Railroad shipped ice in 30-ton carloads to New England.Smith had a sign from the Costenbader Ice Company, Palmerton, that showed different weights of blocks of ice. The sign was put in a window with the desired size of block on the bottom.He showed some of the tools he brought and how they were used.