These photos show the Crystal Ice Co. of Calumet harvesting ice on Seneca Lake in Keweenaw County , in about 1940. This was a yearly event. The car on the ice had a capstain on the left rear wheel and was used for pulling the ice up on a platform to be loaded on to trucks and hauled to Calumet and into the ice house of the Crystal Ice Co.

I've seen a lot of "Shoebox Memory" pix on here, but this, with its description, is one of the best! How we take for granted what we have today!

Ditto Alex on the above.

Where is Seneca Lake?

Seneca Lake is onside the Cliff Drive road between Ahmeek and Phoenix. It's on the right side if your heading there from Ahmeek.

Hi Phyllis, from Texas,

You mentioned that you know of other sites that have pictures of Lake Superior...would you be willing to share the names of those sites?

Thanks,
Edie

It must have been really cold when the photo was taken but the folks don't seem to have very warm clothing on. Eleanor - when you say "yearly event" do you mean the ice was harvested once a year, or did more form and another harvest could take place? Also how thick do you think the ice is? - that cutter isn't very far down.

I sure do enjoy these shoebox memories. Very descriptive photos of how ice was harvested! I might print a copy of the photo and tape it on the refrigerator, just to remind us how much we actually take for granted these days. Thank God for electricity! :)

Hi Eleanor,
What wonderful pictures! I grew up in Seneca and fished here many times.Could i possibly get a copy of these via email.I would love to add them
to my growing collection.
Alicia

Hey Jean from Devon--I live 5 miles out of Houghton, almost at Oskar. It was 28 below zero Farenheit this morning at 7am. Now, at 2pm, it is 15 above!
Did anyone get shots of the Mt. Ripley Ski Patrol torchlight parade last night? What a great show.

It is a good thing there was no MIOSHA in 1940 or the freezer boxes would have been mighty bare. I guess we could take care of ourselves without government help. Who would have thunk it?

I remember Art Larche (sp) harvesting ice in Dollar Bay in the 1950's. Pure ice, a gift from Mother Nature very kool.Burrr,my P.C.is going to freeze on me if i look much longer.

JAD I don't believe -28F!!! You have just got to be joking. -28 Centigrade is plenty cold enough but -28F? By the way, it's cold here today - the temperature has dropped to 34F this evening. I walk to church, and I got there in record time this morning, as it was about 37F and felt so cold. I reckon I beat the record getting back home.

extremely interesting photos and story. remember picking up ice from a storage building at bass lake(lower=troll). it was in the late 1940's and dad pumped some water to wash off the saw dust in which it was stored all spring and summmer. was about 7-8 years old at the time and remember how cold it was inside that old building. felt good as it was a warm summer vacation time at my uncle's cottage. thanks for the memories.

My Dad used to talk about Art cutting ice down by the old Wire Mill area. They used horses in the process of harvesting it and several teams ended up in the water. He used to store it in sawdust in a large building there and if I remember correctly it lasted into the summer. My brother could probably remember more as he is older and I think he used to help out some times. Anyone else from the Bay know more details? Bob,Bernie or RCW?

I also remember Art Larsh cuting ice on the bay. And the ice-house down by Julio's where they stored it. And how thick was it? "pretty tick son!"

I remember going with my father to Art't building to get big blocks of ice to take to the Wire Mill picnic at Greenspot.I forgot about the sawdust,& being young was wondering where they got ice in the summer out of the lake? My Dad along with uncles worked at the Wire Mill until it moved to Marion IN. what year i don't know? Dad didn't go to In. he then went to work for Clem Bandfield at Dollar Bay Linoleum & Tile.Then i only got to see cousins when they came to visit.It would be nice to see & read the history of the Mill here on Pasty Net.The name Foley has something to do with the Mill too?

we used to wait for Art Larsh to cut ice every winter in $Bay up until the mid 60's. We waited for this event so we could fish in the open water where the ice had been taken from. Ice was 2.5 to 3 ft. thick. VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE A FISHING HOLE WITH A SPUD IN THAT ICE. AAH! The good ole days, we can only remember them!! HEY,
Ratfink, did you ever fish down there??

I remember ice cutting on Seneca Lake probably around 1946 to 1950. My uncle would take this road with a Model A Ford, on our way from Allouez to Eagle River. We usually took this road because my mother was born in Cliff and she always wanted to see her old home site.

Eleanor: I remember when (I think it was your dad) use to deliver ice and all of the children around our street would run over to the truck and he would chip off pieces of ice for us to melt in our mouths. We lived of Cemetery Road in Lake Linden and he would stop at 33 Cemetery at the Baril's house and all of the kids in the neighborhood would watch for him. He would tease us, and in the summer we would brush off the sawdust and pop it into our mouths. What memories! Thanks for this part of my past. Mary

Hiltunen,weren't those Wire Mill Picnics fun. They sure had a lot of good food and stuff for us kids. My dad worked there also until they moved to Marion, Ind. He was old enough to go on S.S. then so he just did that. I think that was in 57 or 58 as I was just finishing school. Jim Foley was the Boss for many years. It would be nice if we would write down or record what the old timers say as so much is forgotten.

The above photo of the ice cutting reminds me of a book I read about Armour Sarkela. He was a Lake Superior fisherman who lived up near Eagle River or Eagle Harbor I think? He explains ice cutting in this book and I found it to be so interesting. It's a great book about a local character. If you've never read it, you should!

While i am remembering, there was also an ice house at Uno Warjakka's in Lac Labelle.
There was an article in the local newspaper about a man from Ahmeek who cut ice from Seneca Lake when he was a lad last year.

Aimo Waarala, of Bootjack, had a gas station and store and also harvested ice from Portage Lake. In his wisdom he always encouraged the local kids to have an ice rink, for hockey and skating, on the lake near his store. Think about it. When you clear the snow away regularily for a skating rink the ice becomes thicker and makes for a better harvest. In later years we figured out why he encouraged to boys to ALWAYS use the toilet facility which he had on land. No one likes yellow ice.

To Jean in Devon England. The diameter of the saw blade in that picture is probably about 36 inches or about 900 milimeters. Therefore the ice being cut is probably 12 to 15 inches or an average of 340 milimeters thick.

No Boo, i never did icefish.Fishing was always a warm weather sport for me.To busy skating on the ice,hockey, sleding down bushtrail,& at the dump.
To Fran Ga.Sure did have alot of good food at the picnic. Copper Country Dairy icecream,Volworth's natural casing hotdogs,on Bunnybread.My cousins & friends moved to Marion,IN.along with the mill,sure am glad Dad didn't pack up & move too.It was Jack Foley who ran the mill.Sure is a great site here,i visit it each day.It has put me in touch with old friends,& i've met new ones.And the pictures are just Wow time after time.

Yoosta be Yooper
Both you and Fran are correct on the Foleys. Jack ran it first, then Jim took over later.
As you know, I ve been there and done that.

Armour Sarkela lived in Cedar Bay, which is northwest of Calumet. He was such an interesting man. Heard many a story of his fishing trips out on the big lake.

Oops! Make that Sedar Bay, which is northwest of Calumet.

Crystal ice co must have been Al DeMares n-3rd street by makis slaughter house--harmalas gas station is still on the corner-heikals now--there were 3 or 4 buildings back there full of sawdust to keep ice all summer one house was on the north side of copper range railroad tracks by milfords lumber yard an calumet dam--it burned all one summer when kids left a fire not put out well with the water they used(if you no what i mean lol) we also used ropes (borrowed from there--lol) to make a large swing on big trees

My grandpa Juho Maki from Pelkie used to cut ice down in Keewenaw Bay near Baraga. They used horses to haul it to the farm on Papin Rd. He used a part of the barn as an ice house. The ice was buried in sawdust to insulate it and it would last way into summer. Man, the things they had to do back then took SO much physical labor!

We harvested our ice on or about Feb. 21st and it took 2 weeks to fill our ice houses by the Pine Street ice rink in Calumet. AS soon as the ice got about 3 inches thick we had to keep the snow off so it would thicken.My brother George and I plowed it off with a model A truck.He cut the top of the cab roof and and put hinges on the front side so we could climb up and out if we ever went "down". He drove the truck and I pushed the stick in front of me forth and back to operate the plow. We usually started this in Dec. and by Feb. it was ready to harvest. As you can see by the picture, the ice on the platform is at least 24 inches thick and Crystal clear. That's how we got our Company name.The circular saw scored about 16" down and the rest was broken with a heavy 2-pronged bar.A 24" block will have about 3" above water.There is about 8 cu.ft.of ice in each block.The ice was hauled by truck and packed in the ice houses and in April month we covered it all with sawdust from our bins behind the ice houses.Yes, Art Larche was the ice man in Dollar Bay. We were good friends. When we visited them he, with his violin, and his girls put on a musical and also sang. They were a jolly family. Incidentaly,I was married 57 yrs ago,now, and my husband Carl is on that saw with my Dad, Edmund De Marois. And yes, it was cold but when you work hard you don't feel it. Send me your e-mail address Alicia and I'll send you the pics.

Thanks Eleanor for those pictures they bring back so many memories. Since I lived in Ahmeek my visits to the lake were quite numerous especially when the ice was being harvested.

Before the process became mechanized they used men with big cross cut saws to cut the ice and horses to pull the ice out of the water.

But then the process was modernized and you can see what modern man then was capable of doing. It is a good thing that OSHA did not exist or there wouldn't be ice in the summer.

They first made all their cuts in say the North-South direction and then cut it in the East-West direction so essentually every block of ice was free floating. They worked on top of that cut- ice and the toughest job was to remove a block or two so the could float the remaing ice to a ramp to be loaded on a truck. They generally took polls and pushed down on a single block to sink it under the rest of the ice to get some open water. After repeating the process 4 or 5 times they had enough room to work in. Never did see anyone fall in.

There was also a large ice storage house on the shore that generelly was filled after the Calumet storage was full and in late summer the ice trucks came to Seneca Lake to get their ice.

Hiltunen in troll land, are you Dave, son of Dave? My dad is Doug and grandpa was George.

Bill P. Ca.
We used crosscut saws too to cut out sections of ice and then we barred them into individual chunks. That is an old picture because when I operated the capstain there was a bigger platform and we filled it and then ran out on the ice and jumped on a saw with someone to warm up. In the winter of 2/43 I had to drive truck because of the war and shortage of help. We got some young kids from Ahmeek: Kezele, Shutte, Kilberg and the rest, I forget. I'll never forget how I disobeyed the railroad guy who was waving me down because the train was comoing. Heck, I was just getting up my speed for that Alloez hill and he wanted me to stop and the train was way off. I made it easily. That happened at least once a day. He never did put in a complaint thank goodness.
I fainly remember that old ice house by Seneca lake. Was the guy named Lahti?? I was young then. My Dad took over after that ice house was down.

I, too, remember my dad and the other local fisherman harvesting block ice from Superior, but always by hand. You had to be careful afterwards not to walk where the ice was thin where the blocks had been cut out and then freshly frozen over. It could be hard to tell sometimes when the snow blew over it. I also remember being sent to get ice in July, and then playing in the sawdust, instead, as it was so nice and cool in there.

Eleanor - did your mother used to sing for the church in Calumet with Val Christensen as organist? I've heard so much of her beautiful singing voice.

Eleanor,I remember your family well-we lived on pine street since 1940,Grathwals house,your mom and dad sure were workers,not only miners worked hard in calumet,and later with there car salvage business also, on the end north end of mine st,we used to swim in channel by there in summers by the dam,40s.I think all the boys from pine street an blue jacket swam there,you must no,we walked by your dads on the way,remember your dad telling me when he got hit in the head hoisting ice up into the ice house--said it almost killed him

Thanks Gus - the ice is definitely thick!! The size of the blade was difficult for me to guess from the photo. I've enjoyed reading all those interesting memories about ice cutting.

ILMHitCC

Yes, my Mother sang at St. Ann's church in Calumet, years ago, with Val Christensen as organist. She passed away in July of 2000 at the age of 97. She would be 100 now.

Tony S-- I remember the Grathwols. They first lived on Pine ST next to the Opas flat where we lived for 2 years. Your name does'nt ring a bell with me tho.
Yes, my Dad was hit in the head with an ice block when the trussle between the 2 ice houses collapsed.He was in the middle. They took the whole top of his head off and put in a silver plate, the size of one of those small ash trays. He was only 21 when that happened and he lived to the age of 78. He worked hard all his life.

Greetings Eleanore...I grew up on front st., Lake Linden and I remember you and Carl working side by side at your garage. In 1949 my father bought a new car, he said: "first nick you put on this car is the last time you will drive it". The first time I drove out of the garage I scraped the side of the car. I drove right over to your shop, told Carl....he had it fixed like new by 5pm....the car was a pea-green Buick and I don't know where he found the odd paint.....You folks were my heros for many years and I never forgot your kindness.....THANKS again...and..PS:I had a lot of fun in that car!!.....Also...."Socko" ( Ed) Larche, who is Art's son, lives here in Escanaba..He and Barb (Glanville) and family are still fun loving..very nice folks.

Thanks Bob. I remember the old wiremill days. Your dad is probably one of the few that are still around. Uncle Bob Nordbeck is around and it is his 82nd birthday today. He and his wife are in a nursing home in Marion, IN as he was one of the fellows from the mill that moved. I believe the Little Art Olson family and the Littles, and Burbanks moved also.
Going back to the Art Larch ice harvesting, I think it was 1963 I worked on the last ice harvest with Reno Salmi, Mike Yauck, & Harry Nye. I think Bill Hilbrand & Jack Champion were there but I'm not sure.

Art Larch had a similar ice cutting machine. It was a model T Ford frame and a model T engine. It was on runners and slid along on the ice the same way.

Hello Edie from Idaho - the sights that I know of are: www.copperharbor.org/copper_harbor_live_cam.htm
www.cableamerica.com/Michigan/Lake.sntml
I had another and it was a shot of the mighty brigde that connects lower Michigan to upper Michigan. I felt that it was not a great shot so I deleted it from my favorite sights. Hope you get this message. Did you use to live in the U.P.? If you know of any other live sights that are of Lake Superior, or Upper Michigan let me know.

I remember Eleanor and Carl at their shop in Lake Linden there when they had gas for sale. My mom would pull up there with a carload of kids and Eleanor would come out to pump the gas. In the winter, with the windows all frosted up on the outside of the vehicle, she would draw faces and pictures for us kids. She would draw them backwards to her so we could make heads or tails of them from inside. She was quite a talented lady. That was my favorite gas station when I was a little kid.

Luanne in WI. Yes, you have it right cousin.I am just amazed at all the response on here after i posted Art's name & the Wire Mill in $Bay.On this post, my 4th.i will enter my right e-mail address.
To RJW-WaMe, Willard Little is my uncle.

RJW Yes you have that right. I think myself, Art,Bob and Johnny Anderson & My Dad are the only ones left. I caught wire for almost 4 years then went to the communtator dept, before the move. Moved to Marion too, but couldn't stand being away from the good ole CC. Say hi to Bob if you speak to him.

My cousin Robert Wenberg told me about this site and the emails that mentioned my Dad's name (Robert Nordbeck)along with the wire mill. As Bob
said they are in a nursing home in Marion. I have
printed this page and will take it to them over the weekend. Mom(Eleanor) is fine but Dad has
had a few stokes so he's not fully aware of everything. They will love hearing about all of this. I live in Indianpolis and have been in the area for over 7 years since leaving Marion, IN. I do enjoy looking at this site. In fact, one
of the girls I work with has this site as a favorite and loves to see what's going on.

Sandy; Hey thats great, say hi also to your mom for me, and I wonder how her brother Carl (Sue too) is doing, havn't heard from him for a long time

Bob,

Uncle Carl and Aunt Sue live in Linwood, MI and are doing well. I talk to them about once every 2 months. Aunt Sue is good about calling my parents. I will tell them you said hello.

This picture caused a mini $Bay Reunion! Real interesting discussion!

Is it my imagination or does that fellow sitting on the timbers in the second picture have an old time hunting license on the back of his jacket? Really enjoy these old pictures.

Who took these pictures? were they snapshots? They seem very clear. Nice historical record of days gone by.

Butch, The pic of sawing ice was enlarged from a 1-1/2"x 2-1/2" photo taken with a cheap Kodak Brownie owned by my husband Carl. Who actually snapped the other snapshot, we are not sure. It could have been Jake Rom of Elm St. in Calumet. I also have a tape that he made viewing Calumet in the olden days and there were some scenes of harvesting ice with my grandfather Lefore on a float of ice. Now that had to be in the 1930's.I don't know what that was on the back of the guy sitting on the timber but I do know the man standing was Joe Plute from Calumet.

Mary Lou, Nice to hear from you. Have'nt seen you for years!!The shop is still there but not in the auto repair business anymore. The chain saws and snowmobiles took over. Glad to hear that Art Larche's son lives near you. He was such a quiet little boy when we visited them. Not like these kids nowadays that have to be the center of attention. I doubt if he even remembers me. Anyway, say Hi to him for me.

My Dad came from Dollar Bay,he used to make his own pasties,I found this web site trying to findout how to make them,and now I'm hooked on the site, twice a day.In the morning and at nite.All the stories he told me I'm reliving every day on this web site, we used to visit my Grandparents every summer 50s 60's+70's My grandmother was born in Calumetin 1883, maiden name was Rosena Ohman,my grandfather was born in Sweden in 1872 Paul Johnson,my father was Conrad (red) Johnson. He had two sisters + two brothers Lucille,Pearl,Ken+Aldrich named after Doc Aldrich Pearl is the only one still with us and living in Alabama , two names that stick in my mind that my dad would mention alot were Harry Warmington,and Ray Helman.Would greatly appreciate any info or stories from anyone that might recognize these names.

ILMHitCC, You remember Val Christensen? Well, she was a professional pianist and had her own program on WHDF Radio on Scott St. Her husband Carl was a violinist and he was the Orchestra leader in the Calumet High School for several years,the late 30's and early 40's. They both passed away within three weeks of each other. They have a daughter Shirley and she married Sully Kauppi from Copper Harbor and own the King Copper Motel. Their son Don has the Mariner North. Small world is'nt it?? Up here anyway. You can drive down there and register for a room and Shirley will be there.

Molly TRV, You remember that!! You know, you were the only ones I did that to. Oh, how you kids giggled!! I also remember how well you took care of me in the hospital one night. I felt a lot better afterwards.

Mary,
I'm sorry to say but you did'nt get ice from my father. It was Art Larche from Dollar Bay. This was his territory. We only delivered ice in Calumet and Laurium.

In the early 60's, we bought ice from Henry Aho in LacLaBelle. We were lucky to have him there - no electricity and an "iffy" gas refrigerator.

Mary,
I'm sorry to say but you did'nt get ice from my father. It was Art Larche from Dollar Bay. This was his territory. We only delivered ice in Calumet and Laurium.

Butch,
The top picture was taken with a small kodak camera. I don't know who took the bottom one. It could have been Jake Rom from Elm ST. I was given a tape that he took of "old" Calumet and a little bit of ice harvesting with my grandfather standing on a float of ice. Now that had to be in the 30's cause I did'nt work then. I can't tell what was on the back of that guy's jacket. I do know that it was Joe Plute standing there.

OOPS!! I guess I repeated myself. I noticed I had sent to Mary twice and tried to delete it but it did'nt work and then I thought I lost Butch's answer so I did that over again--but not right. Us old folks do things like that. HA! HA! Sorry.

Eleanor I remember the time your dad bought his new 54 olds from chevy garage--a blue an white beauty,he had it a long time

also was the DE MAROIS that had the iron scrap yard behind co op farmers store corner 5th an pine --little house by copper range railroad tracks your uncle,we used to pick up scrap iron from red jacket shaft mine ruins an sell it to him during 2nd world war,Mas pantry was still open the next to the co op,pine street boom yrs them,makis market,harmalas gas station,taurens gas station--blanders store(maggie walz buildind,petersons funneral an radio shop,Morgans tomb stones ,vaalvoia,opas finn papers,arolas bakery,finnish ins. co ( Kilpila) old silvia johnsons dads store,great WICKSTROMS MARKET ,pasiches taver,englands gas station,martimakis,johnsons lunch,(Pete Ostenzi) winquist used to store his pin ball machines an juke boxes in there,perkos tavern,harters,mc clures car sales murphy monuments,casarios oil co

also was the DE MAROIS that had the iron scrap yard behind co op farmers store corner 5th an pine --little house by copper range railroad tracks your uncle,we used to pick up scrap iron from red jacket shaft mine ruins an sell it to him during 2nd world war,Mas pantry was still open the next to the co op,pine street boom yrs them,makis market,harmalas gas station,taurens gas station--blanders store(maggie walz buildind,petersons funneral an radio shop,Morgans tomb stones ,vaalvoia,opas finn papers,arolas bakery,finnish ins. co ( Kilpila) old silvia johnsons dads store,great WICKSTROMS MARKET ,pasiches taver,englands gas station,martimakis,johnsons lunch,(Pete Ostenzi) winquist used to store his pin ball machines an juke boxes in there,perkos tavern,harters,mc clures car sales murphy monuments,casarios oil co

Hi Eleanor - I know Shirley well. You'll never meet a finer person anywhere! As I was reading the comments from you and other posters they began to sound awfully familiar. I figured if I asked about St. Ann's I'd find out if I was right. I didn't know Carl "Christy" Christensen personally, but somewhere (who knows) I have an old card of his from when he used to play with his group for dances/parties/weddings. Seems to me I've seen a picture somewhere of them playing at a dance in Mandan, too. Now, if only I could find my keys....

Thank you, Eleanor for those great ice harvest pictures. I've tried to explain that activity to "out-of-towners" before and they just looked at me funny! Figured I was tellin' stories, I guess. I'll say "hi" to Shirley for you! I'm sure she says "hi" back!

The good days - remember spending time with my Grandmother and Aunt on Portland Street and turning the ice sign hanging from the green roll up shade in the front room if you needed ice on that day. If memory serves me correctly it was delivered by Art Marson. Ice Box was kept on the back enclosed porch. Uno always had ice as did Anderson's at Lac La Belle. Always had to get ice for our cottage at Bete Gris until the electric came out there. Was up there this last weekend for snomobiling a great time was had by all - Including the guys from Alabama and Texas.

For all those former Dollar Bay people using this site...Wouldn't it be fun to have a

"remembering funny people from Dollar Bay day"

Where we would share memories of the characters who made being a kid in Dollar Bay......a blast..

In the summer Art would bring ice up to his house.
He must have stored it in old ice boxes for the cmapers and fisherman who stopped by. We would get some small chuncks of ice off his old truck when he parked at his house. Cheaper than a Coke on a warm summer day. Peter if we started talking about characters in $ Bay we'd have to start our own Pasty Cam.

yooper in indiana,
Yes, you are right. My Dad sold the ice business to Art Marson in Oct. 1946 and started up a business near the Calumet Dam on Waterworks Street know as De Mars Used Auto Parts. Mother worked right along with him dismantling cars.

pine steet boy,
You got all the stores right. I remember them all. They are all gone now--too bad. I remember going across the street to Blanders' store for my gramma to get a loaf of bread or some milk for ten cents.
The DeMarois on 5th. and Pine was my grandfathers brother. My Dad had the Used Car Parts business on Waterworks St. near the dam.
You really bring back old memories of all those places on Pine St alone. It's hard to believe that they are all gone.

ILMHitCC,
Glad to hear you know Shirley. She was a good friend of mine. Our Mothers met every week for choir practice and they took us with them. We stayed at each others house and I'll never forget the time I was invited to stay down the Harbor at their Pilot House. Shirley and I had lots of fun rowing a boat across to that little island. Her folks moved down there an had cabins and sold gifts and souvenirs. I don't remember her parents playing for dances and weddings tho. They did'nt seem that type. You had better ask Shirley about that.
Anyway, say Hi to Shirley if you see her soon. We just see her about once a year when we go camping at Fort Wilkins.

Peter Kettenbeil,Montreal,
Peter, I guess I started something with those ice pictures. Yes, I think the people from all of the little towns and villages up here could have a nice chat on their individual "web". This is much FASTER too.

pine street boy,
Correction---my Dad bought a 1959 Olds from Chevy garage and it was TAN. He passed away in 1975 and that car sat in his garage until we sold it in 1998. It still RAN.

Eleanor mi:
That was down past Pelligrini's. Use to go there for veggies with my Aunt - u must have had her as a teacher!

Eleanor--lookind ove my list of the good old pine street buinesses--think Emil paulson an his wife should be in with there bath housse by makis store--and who would ever forget UNO Isaccson endes up with harmalas gas station--then after--RAYS --and then Jimmy an Rocky ROWES now--all good old pine street boys---and it wasnt silvia jonhson--its julia--still think your dad had a 54 olds--??

Hi Eleanor. Thanks for the response. I didn't think you'd ever remember that. I never knew your name til a few years ago. Until then, you were always "The gas station lady." That was the highlight of our outing, watching the "gas station lady" draw on the window. And creatively. I was so impressed. You are referring to my sister who took care of you in the hospital. She is a nurse at KMMC. But you have the right family, that's all that counts. Thanks for all the years of excitement at the gas station.

pine street boy,
Nope,my Dad had a "59 Olds and it was tan. I think I got some papers to even prove it. So much for that! The first ones that owned the bath house were called ELKIE. I know, cause their girl was a friend of mine and she was called Judith Elkie. Then it was taken over by Palosaari's. The son later operated Nelson's Chocolate Shop on Fifth Street.They also have a cottage at Traverse. So, you got 2 things wrong. HA! HA! Try me again.

Molly TRV,

Your welcome. I enjoyed it as much as you kids. I could see you all turn and smile and I just knew you were waiting for me to draw. In the summertime there was dust on your windows from that Valley road and I was still able to draw. Funny how a little thing like that can be etched in a child's mind. That must have bewen 20 yrs. ago. Thanks for remembering.

The tradition of ice harvesting has been revived! In January, 2002, a harvest of 15,000 pounds of ice was made from the east end of Eagle Harbor for the snowhouse building projects in Houghton and Hancock. The large blocks of ice were used to make windows, tables, an ice bar and art sculptures.

On February 12, 2003, another harvest was made from Portage Lake by the Dee Stadium, for this year's version of the snow house in Houghton. It is difficult to find good ice, as deep snow on the lakes affects the quality of the ice.

A grid was laid out on the ice. Chainsaws (without chain oil) are used to cut the blocks. We fished them out of the hole using a wood frame. The blocks were placed on pallets and loaded on a truck with a lift, courtesy of Superior Block Co.

Thanks for the great photos! I had heard of the harvest of ice from Seneca Lake in our search for good, clear ice for the snowhouses.

Eleanor, thanks again for the great memories. I was just thinking that my mother was probably fit to be tied when that "gas station lady" would write in the dust on the van. But I guess if she had 6 kids in the van who were all happy at the same time, it probably didn't much matter. I actually forgot about the dusty vehicle but you were right on top of that too. You are right. I also remember going to Jukuri's gas station on Lake Linden Ave. in Florida Loc. Did you and Carl also own that station at one time? I don't recall now but it seems like I remember seeing you there too. Please refresh my memory. Thanks.

Molly, TRV

> No Molly we did'nt own that station on L.L. Ave in Laurium and you did'nt see me there. Sooo, you forgot about the dusty windows! I did'nt. HA! HA! I think I just scribbled on the back window. I hope your Mom did'nt mind.

Eleanor,

I bought my first chain saw from Carl & learned how to use it from watching Bobby Codere drop trees on a dime.......

Lake Linden certainly had its share of characters & I hope someone will go around and video/audio the stories before they disappear into the mists of time...

Zane...has many & knows who can add to the pile

Coincidences...When I met the Grand chief of the Abenakis in Odenak Quebec....he told me he had cut timber for the Dion's in Lake Linden..& lived in the Apartment that my aunt's father owned..

We live in a small world....

Thanks for sharing the great pictures...!

Peter Kettenbeil

DO YOU KNOW WHO'S IN THE PICTURE?

Eleanor--i rember lot of your friends an ice customers from blue jacket tho--barotonos-kaupila-savalas-gamara-paulson the elect.-whittakers--sousi-mattsons--andersons--chases-
simonson--krafts--plutes--skufkas-williams--sincock-
pollette-schiderhaun-prach--gouruppe--hendrickson--maninen--b. sederson--niemis---brown---juntila ---grigg--williamso--huot--leviska--pelligrini--tulla come to mind

Michigan,

The two men operaing the saw are my husband Carl Kiilunen and my father Edmund De Marois. If you back up 2/3 of the way to Feb, 16th. I wrote an article on ice harvesting. The picture was taken in 1946.

The picture will not copy here....but the CamNote picture January 11, 2003, the driftwood:

I'm looking at January 11, 2003, CamNote picture - and this one stopped me....to look closer. Besides the lighthouse....

Does anyone else see the head of a bear in the mid-left side of the driftwood? The bear's tongue is sticking out a little bit, eyes are shut, and the ears are laid back.

Right underneath is SNOOPY! - giving one of those cheesy smiles when he's done something silly.

Behind Snoopy's head, thre is a little white streak, that looks like a very very small head of a skunk. Ja, I know - but there it is.

Above that there's a head of a poodle that needs a haircut, hair covers its eyes, nose is pointed right at you; its ears on either side could use a trimming, too.

On the left top of the poodle's head there is a tiny badger face, dark eye looking left.

On the upper right just a little down from the top - there's a figure of a camel head, turning away from us - his ear is downward, mouth is open.

It's fun to look for pictures in pictures like this....there's one from August 99(?) of a river near a waterfall that has dozens of woodsprites in it....it's on my desktop, but I've lost the source on Pasty Cam because of a change of computer. Clix on the picture will not give me anything but "Windows XP" and not the date, like it used to before the change.

Pining Yooper - - here is the picture you're lookin at:

I remember Art Larch coming an bringing ice to our house also know his Daughters too espically the nurse

Hope this is not to late to be in touch with Fed-in lower Mi.

At the Mason Historical Museum we have two horse drawn ice cutting tools, that were used to cut ice from local man made ponds, for the Raynor Ice Co. years ago.

We would like to talk to you about your expericences.

Lorraine, Co-director

From a former Art Larche ice harvester: I helped Art many years back in the 40's and 50's to put up ice. It was quite an involved process starting with keeping the ice clear of snow so there wouldn't be slush and the ice would freeze thick. Before my time the ice was cleared with a plow pulled by horses and I understand that once a horse broke through the ice and was lost.An old Model T engine with a circular saw attached to the back axel was used to cut the ice part way through then hand saws were used to complete the job. An needle bar was then used to break the ice blocks apart individually. Art would tease and say,"If you fall in the water make sure you throw the tools on top of the ice." The old smelter buildings were used to store the ice in. The hardest work was handling the large ice cakes (2'x 2' up to 2 1/2' thick and weight up to 300 lbs)as they came sliding into the building. A worker found out who was boss in a quick hurry! By the time you got in shape to handle the ice the job was over. When the harvest was over for the year there was always a big party at Art's house with homemade wine, beer and food such as Italian sausage , pork pie, baked beans etc.
Bernie Gestel

Minnesota....in the past... was there some sort of old plant on the Portage shore behind Dollar Bay? Was it a powder plant? What was the area called? We had our family camp accross the lake and I have forgotten the stories told by old family members......Thanks.

To Minnesota. . .
Thank you for the information on ice cutting. This information will be placed in the museums ice cutting information archives.

Lorraine Co-director

Great Auntie Eleanor- these pics are really wonderful and what a great learning experience for MOST of us. keep up the good work!! for those who don't know, Edmund DeMarois was my Great Grandfather. thanks to all that shared comments and stories, it was great reading ALL of them!!!

Hi, I would like to order meat from the Volworth's company of the copper country. Can anyone help me find their web site or a way to order from the company? Thanks for your help.

You can enter their website through this link:
http://www.vollwerth.com/

It is also posted on Pasty.com's homepage.

Have just read all the notes connected with the ice pictures. I'm a former Yooper (Iron River) now a transplanted Yankee in Tennessee. I really enjoyed the memories. I'm doing a genealogy search on the Kettenbeil name. If there is anyone who knows of anyone, give me a hit.

Helen Kettenbeil TN:
Any relation to the Kettenbeils that lived in Dollar Bay? My sisters and brother went to school with Kettenbeil kids.

For SDC, Hi, I'm Peter's sister Anne and we were from Dollar Bay. Our sisters Mary Lee and Barbara and our mother Marian still live in the CC. For Helen, we are Marian and Bruce's kids.

Make that Annie Bananie

Annie Bananie, Montreal:
My sisters and brother went to school with Peter and Mary-- Gary,Pam and Karen Seppala. We moved down state in '65. We all miss the U.P. Thanks for responding. Say hi to your siblings for us.

what were the diservandages of using the olden day chainsaws?

One.. disadvantage.. as Tim Allen would say "less Power"

Re: Baraga County, MI. Does anyone recall stories about Lizzie Papin would lived on Papin Road in the boonies? Apparently she was part Indian, very strong and independant, and would walk a long distance into town. I can't remember when she died. I think it was around 1950. I have some information about her in a saved, genealogy email folder. Please email me if you have any information about this very interesting woman. I may be related to her. Thank you, Carol

In Eagle River,WI we still do this once a year. Just after the new year the volunteer fire department will go out on Silver Lake and cut around 2500 blocks of ice for our famous ice castle. They still use the equipment that was used back when the ice house was here, one night they go out and score the blocks and that Saturday they knock them loose and load them in the back of trucks and on trailers for the big event. If I can catch them this year I will post a modern day picture of the guys running the old saw and conveyor.

I attended Suomi(now Finlandia)in Hancock from '65 to '67. Memories from those years are some of my most happy recollections. I remember seeing "GoldFinger" at the theater in Hancock(either the Pic or the Lode,can't recall),sat thru it twice.The fall color tours were the most breathtaking explosion of colors I've ever witnessed.My sophmore year the guys were housed in the Hotel Scott which sign had the 'el' in Hotel & the last 't' in Scott burned out,so when you were in Houghton & looked across Portage Canal the sign read "Hot Scot"! Stevenson Chevrolet was right across from the "Hot Scot", & I spent a lot of time over there drooling over first the new '66's & then the '67's. I own a cherry '67 Impala SS this very day! Nuttini's Supper Club,Simonson's grocery(across the street from "Old Main"),the Finlandia Cafe(which had the best pasties),Siller Motors Pontiac,Payne News,& Josten's MensWear are all indelibly etched in my mind along with so many wonderful memories of a such a great time(before Vietnam). The Suomi Lions basketball team used to really kick some butt. I remember us "averaging" at least 110 points when we played the Calumet Radar Base. My good friend Dave Partinen(whose family owned a bakery in Hancock)bought a brand new '65 Plymouth Fury III & sometimes between classes we used to take some 120mph runs up to Calumet!,..how nuts were we in those days of bias-belted tires? Siller Pontiac was selling new GTO's & 2+2 Catalina's right off the trailers as fast as that poor old LONE salesman could do the paper work. Professors'Wanhala,Stadius,Simonsen,Waisanen & others were some of the most intellectually stimulating & memorable people I've ever had the honor of knowing. My freshman roommate Mark Schroeder,my sophmore roommate Tom Rice & others like Don Sterling,Bill Tuscholke,Steve Foster,Cam Goetz,& Art Hammerstrom are all in my most precious memories. It truly was an act of God which allowed me all of those opportunities up there in the "U.P." I was blessed then as I am now in knowing that.

TU in Shorewood
Couple corrections to your Suomi memoirs; Pic is in Hancock, Lode in Houghton, would it be Joffee's menstore in Hancock? Attended Suomi also '65-'66.

I have several photographs that were exhibited at the Shorewood Camera Club circa 1950 by photographer N. Bigelow of Milwaukee,Wisc. I am wondering if anyone has more information on this photographer? Thank you for your response.