Crystal Lake in Harrison is normally the setting for swim lessons, picnic lunches and softball at the adjacent ballfield. But come winter, Crystal Lake is the site of something very old fashioned and interesting – ice harvesting.

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Harrison local Bill Winslow’s draft horses 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 conveys the ice to the nearby icehouse.
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  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.