The Ice Card
In the mid 1940, we didn't have refrigerators or at least most of us didn't. But we did have ice. Almost every household had an icebox. This was a insulated cabinet with several compartments and doors which sealed tightly when closed and latched. The ice compartment was equipped with a drain to carry off the water from the melted ice. Iceboxes were made of wood and tin, came in many sizes and styles, and were often kept on the back porch.
Our icebox was old and had many coats of white paint but worked fine. The door to the ice compartment opened from the top of cabinet. The top was often occupied with miscellaneous items placed there by my mother to discourage unnecessary openings and closings. On hot summer days a hand sized hunk of ice was a treat to us kids. We could eat it like a popsicle, put salt on it to lick off, or drop it down the shirt of some unsuspecting friend.
Ice was delivered twice a week by the iceman. Each household had an ice card supplied by the ice company. An ice card was used to communicate to the iceman the size of the block of ice needed that day. The card contained several holes for hanging it on a nail on the front porch. Each hole represented a different size block and the corresponding number could be read by the iceman from the street.
The iceman wore a rubber apron and drove a truck with a wooden bed equipped with a cover of heavy canvass. The large hundred pound blocks of ice were scored with grooves that enabled the iceman to quickly and skillfully chip off the various block sizes needed by his customers. He would stop in front of each house, chip out the right size block according to the ice card, then carry the block with tongs to the icebox. Often payment was left in an agreed to place for pick up when the delivery was made. There was a great deal of trust in those days.
The smaller children would gather around the truck while the ice was being chipped in hopes of getting a free morsel as was often offered by the iceman. The older boys waited until the iceman was out of sight to raid the ice truck. They helped themselves to larger pieces and sometimes, much to the displeasure of the iceman, chipped them from the large unbroken blocks.
Occasionally someone would change the ice card on a someone's porch to indicate that they wanted a fifty pound block of ice when they really only wanted a small block. This usually resulted in a argument. The iceman would faithfully lug the heavy block the full distance only to have the customer refuse to pay. We were delighted. The iceman's involvement left the ice truck unguarded so we enjoyed an abundant supply of ice chips while watching adults scream and yell at each other like we often did.
Copyright © 1992 Charles Prier
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