Return to the iceman

Early interesting Cars:

 I think this is a '58 Buick
 
But for today:

A couple days ago I talked about the iceman. I enjoyed all the comments. One in particular from Tom, over Myra's way. Mentioning that the ice and coal was delivered by horse and wagon in Chicago in his youth.

He talked about the ice man chipping off the amount needed or requested by the ‘Ice Card’ that was always placed in the window on ice day. Yes Tom, it was the same down south. In the summer I enjoyed watching him use that ice pick and cutting off just the amount mama had requested. 
 (Side note: The shape of the coal bucket always fascinated me) We stopped getting coal in 1945. Daddy converted all the stoves to kerosine.)

Down south the Iceman would carry that hunk of ice thru the house and place it in the Ice Box. And in the summer there was always a bunch of kids following the truck or wagon to get the ice chips. Shucks, it was about as much of a thrill as a slushy or flavored snowball today

As a kid I was fortunate. It wasn’t far to the ice plant. The chute the huge blocks slid down on the way to the trucks had sections where the ice would shave off as it passed. There were piles of chips and shavings underneath for the taking. The men who worked there knew we were under the chute and talked to us. It was a fun time.

I thought of this again when I asked Sherry if she had put the left overs in the Ice Box. I still call the refrigerator an Ice Box much of the time.

I have now read pages of water to ice, yes it does involve heat to produce refrigeration, but I cannot find a simple to the point explanation.

The mind loses something as it turns 80. (Attn to all of you who haven't turned the page to 80 yet, especially Tom):::  
WARNING...
When you get 79 start counting backwards with the Birthdays!

Nite Shipslog

Surgeon and the Plumber

Early interesting Cars:

 I believe this is a 33 Stude

But for today:
You may remember when the government decided to save water and demanded a commode to flush with about a gallon and a half of water. Commodes were using 2-3 gallons a flush.

The transition was at times disastrous, both for the consumer and the plumber. Some people refused to pay the plumber and demanded the new commode be removed and the old one returned, most of the time impossible besides being illegal.

Traveling I have actually read signs above the commodes that read:
OUR GOVERNMENT’S COMMODE TO SAVE WATER. For it to work please flush 2 or 3 times, remember we are saving water!!!!!!!!  Signed the management.

I had the same problems as a builder. But they finally got the commodes to flush well at 1.6 gals.

Yesterday I replaced this commode, you might can see the long crack around the top, it has been there for years and never leaked.

Removed commode and Cleaned floor added wax ring, I wonder if it is still bee’s wax?

My girl ‘demands’ these bolt covers and hates the ones that will not stay snapped.

To check for leaks I use toilet paper under the fittings. 

 (I despise toilet paper that doesn’t tear straight. LOL)

Job finished, cleaned up, tools and waste put away.

 I thought I would be honest, I used some original parts and did not read to instructions. This is what is left. LOL

 My Emergency room:
In our transition back into this house I found this 
dismembered child, she needed surgery badly. 

Being only a plumber, electrician and carpenter I had never studied surgery, but it didn’t seem like such a hard job. After much study I figured she was originally held together with rubber bands. I used one for the arms and one for the legs attached to the head.
It took a couple tries making hooks to work. But now she graces our chest of drawers.
 
Sherry had to dress her, I will never understand ladies clothing. ...... On the other hand...... undressing...LOL I forgot, me 'n Tom are getting older!  ;-(

Nite Shipslog 

The Iceman ....Ice and Coal

Early interesting Cars:
 old ice truck

But for today:
This morning over breakfast Sherry and I were talking about a local family she remembered, the Abee’s. She said all she could remember about them was that old Ms. Abee drove an A-Model Ford. When I was searching for land once, I learned the Abees were large land holders in Belmont and also owned the local Ice and Coal Company.

Once I found some Abee land for sale, I told my son if he did not want it, I did. He bought it. I had walked the acreage and found an old 1912 junk truck, I wanted it. However once the survey was completed the truck was 20 feet into to the neighboring Abee property. OUCH!

I had never thought of the odd combination of Ice and Coal. As I sat there I told Sherry I bet the reason was the Ice plant used huge amounts of coal to heat some type of machine that made ice. I do know it takes HEAT to refrigerate. I am not sure how the process was years ago.

The Iceman was a big part of Sherry’s and my life. Those big 200 lb blocks of ice on the ice truck, were mind boggling to kids.

To be honest I did a quick search on ‘artificial ice’ (how it was originally ID’d). Because the first 'ice' preserved was natural winter ice, cut from lakes and rivers and preserved with sawdust into the summer.

One story I read was of  a preacher in Mississippi that had actually seen the new artificial ice being made and told his congregation of the wonderful process and they fired him. He was of the devil, no man could make ice, only God.

You think of it, it was a wonderful thing, now we take it for granted. LOL  
If you  know how they produced the heat to make ice, tell me. I could not find it on a quick search.
Nite Shipslog