How They Used To Harvest Ice (Before Refrigerators) скачать в хорошем качестве

How They Used To Harvest Ice (Before Refrigerators)

Ever wondered how people used to harvest ice before refrigerators? In this video, we explore the forgotten art of ice harvesting and the process of storing ice in icehouses. Join us as we delve into this fascinating piece of history! Brewing beer in the 19th century wasn't as simple as boiling water, malt, barley and hops… One of the biggest struggles beer makes faced was keeping the beer cold… Well, up here in Buffalo, that was no problem…. until summer hit. What you needed was something cold, like lake ice. And what came with the ice was danger… the danger of getting stranded on an ice floe or lost in a blizzard. Every year after the lakes froze over hundreds if not thousands of men would venture miles out onto the lake ice with horses and sleighs to harvest ice, or to simply fish. There were even taverns built miles out on the ice pack to give people place to warm up and have a drink. To get an idea of scale, nearly a 1/4 million tons of ice was pulled from the lake in 1896 at buffalo, right near this spot, that was once the foot of Michigan street. The ice cakes were then dragged and hauled ashore into huge ices houses like this one operated by John P Sullivan, a Buffalo Alderman and entrepreneur. The ice cakes as they were called then pushed into "The runway" and then the floes would be "poled" and pushed to shore. Remember these were days when once the lakes froze no ships could go out to rescue you, no helicopter or plane could search for you, if you were stuck on the ice you were on your own. In 1934, 500 fishermen were 1-2 miles out when a crack in the ice 5-miles long and 300 feet wide opened up separating them from the shore, fortunately they were able to quickly escape off at one end. in 1950, 200 men were stranded when the wind shifted breaking a 20-mile long section of ice pack off from shore fortunately by that era the -coast guard rescued them. But eventually with the invention of refrigeration the need for lake ice dwindled and beer could be shipped nationwide in refrigerated railcars and trucks.