Old-time ice harvest held at Itasca

Electric refrigeration was not commonly used in Itasca State Park and its neighboring areas until the early 1950s. The use of ice boxes was far more common.  In order to preserve food such as meat and vegetables year round, ice was cut from Lake Itasca during the winter season. This practice became known as ice harvesting.  Ice blocks would be stored and sold out of the Bear Paw Campground’s icehouse in the park to campers as well as locals.  In the early 1960s electric refrigerators became more prevalent in the area and public health regulations began to prevent the use of lake ice.   Related content  On Saturday, in honor of 125 years of history Itasca State Park hosted the Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers to demonstrate an Old Time Ice Harvest.  LIRPF was incorporated in 1976. It’s a non-profit corporation devoted to the preservation and exhibition of rural and historic Americana for cultural and educational purposes.  Siri Simons and Kevin Krueger of Minneapolis were staying at the Douglas Lodge Four Seasons Suites for the weekend. When asked how they had heard about the harvest, “we saw it on the events calendar,” Krueger explained with enthusiasm, “and I said, that sounds so cool, we have to go!”  They were not the only ones to brave the subzero temperatures. Connie Cox, a naturalist at Itasca State Park, estimated that close to 100 people came out to see the ice harvested.   “As cold as it was it was kind of amazing,” observed Ken Brein, President of LIRPF.  Marilyn Husby of St. Cloud was at the harvest with a group of nearly 30 people.  “We’re all just having a good time in the outdoors,” Husby explained about enduring the cold. “There’s no such thing as bad weather; only bad equipment.”  As far as equipment used to cut the ice, Gary Johannessohn, a volunteer with LIRPF, explained that he had designed it using different old photographs. He then took those ideas and used old scrap he had to piece the machine together as well as a Red Seal 4-cylinder Flathead engine.     The gasoline powered ice cutter has a large circular saw blade that cuts lines into the ice approximately 16 inches deep to form blocks weighing approximately 80 pounds each.  The ice on Saturday was close to 30 inches thick. Volunteers implemented a method known as “ice dry” with the ice cutter, in which the blocks remain dry because they do not cut all the way through the ice.  This method is safer and less messy. “It helps to do wet ice,” explained Brein, “because the water helps pop it out.”  For demonstration purposes the LIRPF volunteers also demonstrated cutting the ice with single-handled handsaws similar to crosscut saws used to cut timber.  This proved to be much more time consuming, as well as physically difficult.  Many of the onlookers stepped in to volunteer and help cut the ice when it became too tiresome for the previous cutter.  After the ice was cut, long handled ice chisels were used to separate the cut blocks which were then pulled out of the water using large ice tongs and basic manpower.   The ice blocks were then loaded onto a truck bed where they will be hauled to Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers show grounds; which are adjacent to the North side of Itasca State Park on Minnesota Highway 200.  The ice will be stored by traditional methods, inside an icehouse and packed in sawdust to provide insulation. According to Ken Brein, it could be kept as long as August.  This year marks Itasca State Park’s 125th birthday. On July 31, 2016 the park will host a birthday party for itself with cake and ice cream.  The ice harvested from Lake Itasca on Saturday will be used to make homemade ice cream for the occasion.Electric refrigeration was not commonly used in Itasca State Park and its neighboring areas until the early 1950s. The use of ice boxes was far more common.  In order to preserve food such as meat and vegetables year round, ice was cut from Lake Itasca during the winter season. This practice became known as ice harvesting.  Ice blocks would be stored and sold out of the Bear Paw Campground’s icehouse in the park to campers as well as locals.  In the early 1960s electric refrigerators became more prevalent in the area and public health regulations began to prevent the use of lake ice.   Related content  On Saturday, in honor of 125 years of history Itasca State Park hosted the Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers to demonstrate an Old Time Ice Harvest.  LIRPF was incorporated in 1976. It’s a non-profit corporation devoted to the preservation and exhibition of rural and historic Americana for cultural and educational purposes.  Siri Simons and Kevin Krueger of Minneapolis were staying at the Douglas Lodge Four Seasons Suites for the weekend. When asked how they had heard about the harvest, “we saw it on the events calendar,” Krueger explained with enthusiasm, “and I said, that sounds so cool, we have to go!”  They were not the only ones to brave the subzero temperatures.Connie Cox, a naturalist at Itasca State Park, estimated that close to 100 people came out to see the ice harvested.  “As cold as it was it was kind of amazing,” observed Ken Brein, President of LIRPF.  Marilyn Husby of St. Cloud was at the harvest with a group of nearly 30 people.  “We’re all just having a good time in the outdoors,” Husby explained about enduring the cold. “There’s no such thing as bad weather; only bad equipment.”  As far as equipment used to cut the ice, Gary Johannessohn, a volunteer with LIRPF, explained that he had designed it using different old photographs. He then took those ideas and used old scrap he had to piece the machine together as well as a Red Seal 4-cylinder Flathead engine.    The gasoline powered ice cutter has a large circular saw blade that cuts lines into the ice approximately 16 inches deep to form blocks weighing approximately 80 pounds each.  The ice on Saturday was close to 30 inches thick. Volunteers implemented a method known as “ice dry” with the ice cutter, in which the blocks remain dry because they do not cut all the way through the ice.  This method is safer and less messy.“It helps to do wet ice,” explained Brein, “because the water helps pop it out.”  For demonstration purposes the LIRPF volunteers also demonstrated cutting the ice with single-handled handsaws similar to crosscut saws used to cut timber.  This proved to be much more time consuming, as well as physically difficult.  Many of the onlookers stepped in to volunteer and help cut the ice when it became too tiresome for the previous cutter.  After the ice was cut, long handled ice chisels were used to separate the cut blocks which were then pulled out of the water using large ice tongs and basic manpower.  The ice blocks were then loaded onto a truck bed where they will be hauled to Lake Itasca Region Pioneer Farmers show grounds; which are adjacent to the North side of Itasca State Park on Minnesota Highway 200.  The ice will be stored by traditional methods, inside an icehouse and packed in sawdust to provide insulation. According to Ken Brein, it could be kept as long as August.  This year marks Itasca State Park’s 125th birthday. On July 31, 2016 the park will host a birthday party for itself with cake and ice cream.  The ice harvested from Lake Itasca on Saturday will be used to make homemade ice cream for the occasion.