Men and boys pose beside a wooden conveyor and an open cutting channel during an ice harvest at Lakeland, Michigan on Zukey (Zuckey) Lake (early 1900s, date not confirmed).
Before home refrigerators, winter ice was “the crop” that kept food cold. Library archives describe Lakeland crews cutting blocks, storing them at the Lakeland Ice House, and loading ice into train cars bound for Detroit and Toledo.
The horse team in the background is a reminder this was heavy, dangerous work — long before forklifts and insulated trucks.
Did your family ever cut ice, work the ice house, or remember the winter harvests on Zukey Lake?
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