I was born and raised here in the city, at home, in a duplex house right down from where the new Veterans’ Home now sits. I can remember this old house with the two doors leading off the front porch. My aunt and her husband lived in one side, and we lived in the other. We had electric lights. It wasn’t in the dark ages, but we didn’t have very many modern appliances. We had an icebox — not a refrigerator — that had a place in the top for a block of ice. Now I think of it as a big cooler like we carry cold drinks in today. The ice truck came twice a week by our house and brought us a big block of ice that we put in the top and kept our things cool and that we chipped ice from to use other ways. The old icehouse sat on a side street just off the square where now offices stand.
The icehouse was fascinating to me. I went inside once, and it was so amazing and surprising that I can still shut my eyes and picture exactly how it looked. It was a huge, cavernous space and so cold. Water would flow into a high built big mold made from tin/aluminum, fashioned into a long square tube. Then, the frozen water would freeze and as the ice slid down the chute, it was cut into blocks of ice to be used in those ice boxes. They didn’t just store the ice as we would today; it was kept frozen in the freezing house and wrapped in burlap and covered with sawdust to keep it from melting. The truck that delivered it was an “ice truck.”
Ice cream, popsicles, or anything frozen could not be kept frozen in our icebox. But we could keep soda drinks, lunch meat, and things that needed regular refrigeration. My grandmother didn’t have the icebox at first and she kept her cold things in a deep, dark, cellar type room, dug into the ground. When the ice truck came by their house, they carried the big block into the cellar room and covered it with burlap and lots of sawdust. She loved ice in her iced tea mixed with RC cola and this way of preserving the ice kept it for several days.
I loved those days, or at the least, I love to remember those days. The memories are wonderful to pull out of my “memory box” from time to time as I enjoy three refrigerators here at the farm, two with ice makers and one portable ice maker that sits on the cabinet. When we have a “social” here at the Circle S, I always call one of my people to bring me a bag of crushed ice. We keep ice cream, popsicles, ice cream bars, anything frozen I need to make a meal, and if one of these freezers goes out, I panic. How in the world were we able to “make” it back in the day? That’s easy to answer. We were CONTENT with what we had. We were living a life full of contentment not always anticipating the next big idea that would make our lives better. Sure, I enjoy all the extras I am afforded but I miss the easy days of yesteryear.
My children have made ice cream this way. It’s fun for kids.
ICE CREAM IN A BAG – 1 cup of half and half, 2 T. sugar, ½ t. vanilla, 3 cups crushed ice, 1/3 cup kosher salt. In a small resealable plastic bag, combine half and half, sugar, and vanilla. Push out excess air and seal.
In another large resealable plastic bag, combine ice and salt. Place small bag inside of larger bag and shake for 7 – 10 minutes until hardened. Add your favorite toppings.
