Crystal Lake in Harrison the Site of Ice Harvesting Saturday
February 20th, 2009 categories: Maine Waterfront Real Estate News, Sebago Lakes Region
Crystal Lake in Harrison is normally the setting for swim lessons, picnic lunches and softball at the adjacent ballfield. But tomorrow, Crystal Lake will be the site of something very old fashioned and interesting - ice harvesting.
Harrison local Bill Winslow will have his draft horses out and they will provide a lot the muscle for the heavy lifting that takes place after the ice has been cut into 250 lb. blocks, pulled out of the water with tongs, and loaded onto the horse-drawn sledge that will convey the ice to the icehouse nearby.
An antique, gas generated, motor powers a wild-looking circular saw that does most of the ice cutting, followed by rugged men who finish the job with long, hand-held saws. Other men use huge ice tongs to grab the blocks floating in the water and hoist them out onto the ice. The blocks are slid along a conveyor and up into the sledge.
The local Historical Society has been organizing this demonstration for the last several years and have made it part of a more general Winter Carnival that takes place this weekend while the school kids are still on vacation. The demonstration starts around 10 a.m. and generally lasts several hours.
Read more about this by clicking on this article: “Harrison to Recreate its Ice Harvest“.
Tom - MrLakefront
[…] Crystal Lake in Harrison the Site of Ice Harvesting SaturdayBucking National Trend, Maine Home Prices Continue to Rise in 2007 · Buyers and sellers in the Maine lakefront homes market are living in the shadow of the subprime mortgage fallout. … read more… […]