“. . . we used to have a route . . . [and] the people were given cards that they put in the window. And then if they wanted ice for the day, they would put the sign out on the window so you could see it. And then you’d come in . . . and if they had an outside icebox, you had a door on the outside of the house and you would just throw it in the refrigeration compartment of the icebox. “
Fred Hamann, oral history excerpt, August 1996, OPM OH1996.1.1


Everyone loved the iceman. In the heat of summer, he drove his horse drawn wagon through neighborhood routes bringing large blocks of clear ice to homes to cool food kept in the icebox. Kids followed his wagon, and in later years his truck, begging for chips of ice to suck on. A sign in the window of each house told the iceman how many pounds he should bring in.

The “icebox” was used before refrigerators. It looked similar to today’s refrigerator, except there was no freezing compartment above. Instead, a block of ice was stored in the box, cooling the food. As the ice melted, the water collected in a large pan at the bottom, or sometimes was drained outside the house through a small pipe. It was typically the household chore of children to make sure the pan did not overflow. In the 1930s, a 75 pound block cost 45¢ and a 25 pound block of ice was 10¢. A block would last about one day during the heat of summer, sometimes a day and a half.

There was a thriving ice industry in Oshkosh. Every winter, usually in January, crews cut ice from the lake in a highly organized, methodical process. The ice was stored in huge wooden warehouses all along the shore. To insulate the ice, the blocks were packed in sawdust and wood chips, a byproduct of Oshkosh’s woodworking industry. The warehouse walls were often lined with thick cork. Oshkosh Pure Ice Co., Doemel Ice, and Winnebago Ice were some of the local ice companies in the 20th century. In addition to local use, Lake Winnebago ice was also shipped by train to large cities. Many individuals and farmers cut their own ice each winter, storing blocks in special backyard sheds or even in basements.

Ice was cut from the lake using large saws that had extremely coarse teeth. The ice was floated to a ramp, where it was slid out of the water and then up a conveyor belt into the warehouse. The warehouses held thousands of tons of ice. For delivery, large iron tongs were used to lift the block from the wagon or truck, and then the iceman put the block over his shoulder and carried it into a home or business. About half of the annual ice harvest was sold to taverns, meat markets, dairies, and restaurants. Breweries were also big ice consumers.

Mechanical refrigeration was invented in the 1880s and perfected in the 1890s. This eventually put an end to the ice industry, although the change came slowly because refrigerators were expensive. When household electrical service became common in the 1920s, more and more people purchased refrigerators because they were much better at keeping food fresh. A few people still had iceboxes after World War II, but not many.

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