2017 Research in the Capitol
Presentation Type
Open Access Poster Presentation
Keywords
Ice industry--Iowa--History;
Abstract
On January 30, 1908, ice harvester Frank Osgood, who was hard at work on the Cedar River during a viciously cold day taking ice blocks cut from the river then up the elevator to the ice house, “froze his eye lids.” Common tasks in the natural ice industry required workers to be out in the coldest winter conditions to produce blocks of frozen water for sale to those who kept food fresh year-round. Hard physical labor permeates the natural ice industry’s fascinating history and is often overlooked, but the story of Osgood and those like him offers insight into the lives of thousands of Iowans, from the mid-1800s and the state’s founding through the era of industrialization to the Great Depression, who worked in these conditions. It is also a story of human technological innovation to make use of natural resources at hand and resilience to environmental adversity.
Start Date
28-3-2017 11:30 AM
End Date
28-3-2017 1:30 PM
Event Host
University Honors Programs, Iowa Regent Universities
Faculty Advisor
Leisl Carr-Childers
Department
Department of History
Copyright
©2017 Andrew Olson
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Olson, Andrew, "“Long Cold Days”: The Natural Ice Industry, 1880 to 1940" (2017). Research in the Capitol. 13.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/rcapitol/2017/all/13
“Long Cold Days”: The Natural Ice Industry, 1880 to 1940
On January 30, 1908, ice harvester Frank Osgood, who was hard at work on the Cedar River during a viciously cold day taking ice blocks cut from the river then up the elevator to the ice house, “froze his eye lids.” Common tasks in the natural ice industry required workers to be out in the coldest winter conditions to produce blocks of frozen water for sale to those who kept food fresh year-round. Hard physical labor permeates the natural ice industry’s fascinating history and is often overlooked, but the story of Osgood and those like him offers insight into the lives of thousands of Iowans, from the mid-1800s and the state’s founding through the era of industrialization to the Great Depression, who worked in these conditions. It is also a story of human technological innovation to make use of natural resources at hand and resilience to environmental adversity.
