The Ice Block Cutters of Wisconsin, 1918 January 1918, Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin. Before electric fridges.
The Ice Block Cutters of Wisconsin, 1918 January 1918, Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin. Before electric fridges. Ice was money. Cut it in January, store it in sawdust, sell it in July. 1,000 companies did it. Biggest was Madison Ice Co. 300 men, 200 horses. Ice had to be 14 inches thick. Clear, blue. No snow on top — snow made it milky. War on. Men gone. So boys and old men cut. The Koski family had a contract. Dad Eino, 51, Finnish. Sons Matti, 17, and Jari, 15. Mom Hilma, 48, ran the scoring. Scoring meant marking the lake — 22-inch squares with a marker, like a giant plow. January 12, 1918, -25°F. No wind. Lake singing — ice cracking under pressure. Sounds like guns. They started at 6 AM. Matti and Jari used 6-foot saws. Two-man. Back and forth. Cut 1,000 blocks a day. Each block 300 pounds. Horses pulled them up the ramp. 4 PM, Jari was tired. Missed a step on the ramp. Went in. Water 33°F. No survival suit. Just wool. Eino was 50 feet off. Saw him. Ran. Threw the pike pole — 12-f...