Long Lake water had a reputation for its clean quality and the ice-making industry flourished for over sixth years. A conveyer carries the ice up from the water to a platform from where it is loaded on sleighs at the Peoples Coal and Ice Company. Commercial ice houses dating back to the early 1890s were located on the north, east, and southwestern shores of the lake. They flourished until the 1950s when modernized refrigeration made them virtually extinct.
Peoples Coal and Ice Company worker Hank Bona, working with a scorer to split the ice into blocks before it loads the conveyer. When ice was 10 inches thick, snow was removed with teams of horses and scrapers. First an ice marker cut a groove one-half inch wide and two inches deep. Each block was 20 inches by 32 inches. Then a groove eight to ten inches deep was cut with an ice plow and horse power. After cutting, the blocks were floated to the conveyer by a man riding the block using a pike pole. The chains of the conveyor extended into water three feet.
This winter view of Ramsey Street looking east from Grand Avenue toward Central Avenue shows the Home State Bank and R.J. Fischer Law Office in the Nelson Building.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections
Snow drifts block the entrance to the Spalding Hotel, Main Street, Crosby, Minnesota. A fire escape services the second and third floor. A horse approaches on the side street.