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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1962-03-15, Page 3Harvesting ice From The River Icing day came as a Welcome break in • the drab monotony of these dark days, Ice was a neces- sity, not a luxury, with us. My father was a wholesale beefdealer long before the days of the big Chicago packers. Every Monday he drove to Reading, a matter of five miles, boarded a train for Boston, took a horse -car to, Brigh- ton and there at the stoekyaxdS bought a bunch of wild Texas steers. Drovers brought there on the hoof over country roads every Tuesday in the safety of the night, reaching our place Wed- nesday morning. With January my father kept close tabs on the river for all the ice he would need. "The Old Farmer's Almanac" was carefully read and weather signs were studied, 1 think I can quote more weather -lore rhymes than any superstitious old Yankee living. 'They really weren't superstitions, They were compiled observations of years of New England weather patterns. For our purposes we liked best an foe cake of twelve by four- teen inches. We had no equip- ment for planing, so we watched the formation of ice on the cove in the Ipswitch River for the proper thickness, The ice had to be piled tier on tier in the tall icehouse and must be of uniform thickness to pack well, to pre- serve an even balance and pre- vent sliding. As the tiers got beyond a man's reach a horse drawn pulley was used. The job of handling the horse fell to my brother. It sometimes went into Febru- ary before we could get sufficient thickness to harvest. Once it went into March. That year the river failed to produce ice thick enough to bear the weight of horses and the necessary machinery. We had to harvest in Swan Pond -that., -little jewel of a lake secreted in the deep pine woods a mile back of our house, There in the se- cluded shade of the tall forest trees we harvested 29 -inch ice - a difficult thickness to handle and a long hard pull over rough wood roads for the horses. But January was the usual month for icing, The ice house itself packed 150 tons, the dry storage at one end of the long barn cellar took about 50 tons,and the refrigerator box held 28. So, as a matter of simple arithmetic, our harvest was 228 tons; And it was handled in a night and a day. Preparations at the cove began the day before harvesting the ice. If snow had fallen on top of the clear crystal, it had to be scraped, This was done with horses and scrapers in the after- noon. The horse -shoes all had to be sharpened at the blacksmith shop three miles away, It needed sharp calks to prevent them from slipping on the pond ice and to give them purchase on the slip- pery snow -packed road from the cove to the hill - a good half mile, At midnight the ice plows started work scoring the pond. By morning the 24 -inch blocks were plowed, ready to be broken up into 12 -inch cakes and floated by pike pole down the channel and lifted or skidded into the sleds backed down to the river bank. Each sled carried a load of 20 Upsidedown to Prevent Peeking M©o ©WI!,' M W ©© UWOOMMOM MEM i MEOW MNUMUMOW MUM ©MUM -MEM MO MO 0010 UM EME COM© �©OO ©OO M19 ©©IDM HEO DU ECU � UNIDO ©©I1I OM©M tui i iiwnr OEM MEMERU©© ©EOg DUOM ©Citi blocks, about tut) tons to the trip, We usually had six two - hone sleds, seven ifwe could get them: And it was a steady procession all day long of horseg. with proudly tossing heads con- scious of their gleaming buckles and polished harness, colored plumes on their bridles blowing in the brisk air hauling the load- ed sleds, the teamsters shouting encouragement, gay bells jang- ling. Strange as it may seem, every string of bells is distinctive yet all chime and blend harmoni- ously. What magic there is in a string of sleigh hells! With cold white winter in the skyl The colder the day the better men and horses liked it, When the thermometer registered around zero the -ice dried as soon as it left the water: It could be han- dled all day without the men even dampening their clothing. It slid well and presented no problem. But if the mercury, as sometimes happened, climbed above the freezing point it spell- ed trouble. A rise in the water would leave two or three feet of thin ice near shore to be bridg- ed with planks, clothing got wet and sogy, and men got chilly and morose, writes Elizabeth Hay- ward Gardner in the Christian ,Science Monitor, The highpoint of the day was reached at 12 o'clock. The men knocked off work; bits were re- moved from the horse's mouths and feed bags tied on Man and beast alike needed respite: The men trooped somewhat self-consciously into the old kit- chen where my mother had been busilyat work all morning. A little sheepishly they dipped hot water from the copper broiler built into the back of the big stove, washed at the old iron sink and made a stab with a comb or a brush at the mirrored wall pocket. Bashfully they filed into the Middle Room where the long table waited, Martin Hayward never had any trouble getting men to har- vest the ice (though it was a jobnot well liked by teamsters). -His wife always had a• dinner they remembered from year to year. I can smell now the mouth- watering odors, see the long table with its snow white cloth, the English china with its brown Chinese pagoda pattern, and live over again the pleasure my mother took in feeding twenty- five hungry men, Four big chines of fresh pork came from the oven, roasted to a tender golden brown perfection, quarts of good golden gravy for the snowy potatoes bursting their brown jackets, winter squash, savory onions, fresh-baked bread or, better still, raised biscuits with generous slabs of butter, pickles sweet and pickles sour, chili sauce, piccalilli, apple, grape and barberry jelly from the cel- lar shelves. And for dessert the old New England standby no one could make better than my moth- er -berry slump, a steamed pud- ding swimming in blue -berries, drowned in vanilla sauce. To bal- ance the sweet a glass of cold apple cider from the barrel in the cellar. No man got up from that table hungry. The bells again began their gay chimes as the endless pro- cession of iceladen sleds moved once more. As the evening star blossomed forth in the sunset -sky the men once more trooped into the kitchen for the final act in the icing day parade -the pay. Then the crew of tired but happy men followed their bells 'down the hill and homeward, , The great day we had all been waiting for was over. The ice crop was housed for another year. We were assured of the means to preserve the meat, the milk, and the vegetables which would feed a vast number of people in the city of Salem for twelve months more. ' DRIVE WITH CARE BIG BULLY -DOZER - What looks like a fight between two mechanical monsters actually is the result of d freak accident. The small bulldozer was being used to heap weight down the larger as it tried to lift its block -long boom The- boom was too heavy, and the weight lifted. the cub off the ground, with The little one trailing behind in Dallas, Tex. END OF THE ROAD -The main highway between Areo and Blackfoot, Idaho, was cut by flood waters, The Northern Rocky Mountain's worst floods in memory have left 6,000 persons homeless in six Western states. Idaho, where 4,000 have been driven from their homes, has been hit the hardest. THEL&2M FRONT JokilQLeLL._ In this nuclear age strontium 90 has u�^ome a household term and its possible contamination of milk has been the subject of widespread speculation. Is there a danger? With each glass of milk that we drink, are we running the risk of radio- active contamination? The answer is an emphatic no! The safety of cur milk supply is not in jeopardy. * • • Why, then, have scientists teamed up to determine methods of removing strontium 90 from milk? And why focus attention on milk, rather than other foods? One reason for using milk as a measure of strontium 90 is that samples can be taken throughout the year representa- tive of a large volume of pro- duction over a wide area. Thus, it is common to see figures about the strontium 90 level in milk. '• • • There is another important consideration. People are dis- turbed about strontium 90 in milk because of the large con- sumption of milk by children, Actually, milk is one of the safest foods so far as strontium 90 is concerned. Cows take into their systems only five per cent of the strontium 90 they ingest and secrete only a fifth of that five per cent in their milk. The danger of humans getting strontium 90 from milk produced by cows eating- contaminated grass is infinitesimal compared with the danger from humans eatingleafy vegetables which have had the same amount of contamination. • • * Furthermore, strontium 90 is deposited in the bones, as: is cal- cium. The more calcium one eats, the less strontium 90 will be taken up by the bones. Since milk is high in calcium, this is a further safety factor as far as humans are concerned, • • * Canada pioneered research in the removal of strontium 90 from milk. Three years ago, Dr. B. B. Migicovsky, a scientist on the staff :of the agriculture depart- ment's research branch, discov- ered a method of removing this long-lasting contaminant. T 11 e United States Department of Ag- riculture became interested in this Canadian research and car- ried, it through the pilot plant stage. Under Dr, Migicovsky's system, upwards of 98 per cent of the strontium 90 that getsinto milk can be removed. It is a highly technical filtering process which leaves treated milk relatively un- changed with respect to compo- sition and flavor, The method In- volves the use of certain chemi- call known technically as ion - exchange resins, * • Present levels of strontium 90 in the world are so minute they can hardly be measured, The need to remove it from any food product does not exist today. It is still comforting to know that should the need ever arise, Dr, Migicovsky's technique for ridding milk . of this component of radioactive fallout could be quickly put into effect on a com- mercial basis, * • * Fallout on the Farm is to be reprinted. This"best selling" free book- let, prepared by the Canada De- partmeeh of Agriculture at the request of the Emergency Meas- ures Organization, has been in steady demand since its publi- cation in April, 1961. The first 200,000 copies have been dis- tributed, and English and French editions will be reprinted to bring the total to 400,000 copies. Fallout on the Farm offers ad- vice to farmers on how to avoid the immediate dangers of fall- out from an atomic attack, It does not go into the long-range prob- lems or the effects on future generations. it describes a nu- clear blast only to make the rec- ommendations understandable, and it emphasizes what can be done to protect family and live- stock during the first few days after an attack. WATCHFUL EYE -TV cam- era silently scans movement of copper ore deep in an Ari- zona mine. Device enables one operator to control sev- eral moving belts. Waiting For Moon To Do Its Stuff The great total eclipse of Feb, 5 has answered the prayers of American solar physicists. While millions of Asians sought to fore- stall the end of the world with offerings and sacrifices, an eight - man scientific team from the Hight Altitude Observatory at Boulder, Colo., the Sacramento Peak (N.M.) Observatory, and the National Bureau of Stand- ards hoped to record it photo- graphically from a seashore at Lae, New Guinea. Twice before in the last five years, the U.S. team had traveled thousands of miles to record the totality and capture an unparal- leled view of the solar chromos- p h e r e, the little - understood boundary between the visible disk of the sun and the encirc- ling corona, In 1968, rain wash- ed out the attempt from Danger Island in the South Pacific; a year later in the Canary Islands, clouds masked the sun seconds before totality occurred, This time the heavens parted, "When we went out to the cam- eras after breakfast," Dr, John Firor of Colorado reported, "1t was raining. At 8 a,m, the rain stopped but there were several layers of clouds, We were feel- ing terrible." Then, at 848 two minutes ISSUE 8- 1962 before the 162 seconds 0±t atal- ity were to begin - the clouds cleared, The day became night. The pearly white corona leaped out around the black of the moon. Why all the interest in eclipses? Firor gives three rea- sons. First, the moon blocks out the main light of the sun, and permits detailed investigations impossible at other times. Sec- ond, since the moon is travelling across the face of the sun at 300 miles per second, the cameras can be set to take three pictures a second and give photographs of 100 -mile areas. Finally, with this good detail and fine resolution, the physical processes that go on in the chromosphere can be anal- yzed, "We have enough material for a decade of study," Firor conclud- ed happily. This "Game" Could Kill Millions It is no secret that U.S. Stra- tegic Air Command crews - and no doubt their Soviet counter- parts - constantly rehearse their' deadly roles: Scrambling upon a simulated alarm, flying 36 - hour missions, and "bombing" an assigned objective. Every element is as realistic as possible, with one obvious ex- ception: There is no practice over the real targets. Now, the Air Force's deadly game has been given an added refinement. Within the last fif- teen months, the Air Force has quietly planted two fields of tele- phone poles in isolated prairies in the Western United States. One is 70 miles southeast of Rapid City, S.D., and the other is 25 miles northeast of Glasgow, Mont. Each field contains 180 poles and covers 4 square miles. Each pole is topped by prism - shaped aluminum sheets 4 feet square. By adjusting the reflec- tor angles in a carefully calcu- lated pattern, ground teams can duplicate the "radar image" of any city in the world. The trick is not unlike the flashcard patterns of college football cheering sec- tions; instead of a school insig- nia, however, the SAC patterns show rivers, factories, and entire cities, Which cities are the pilots and bombardiers practicing on? "Pro- tocol wouldn't allow me to be specific," a public -relations of- ficer answered, "but you can use your imagination," Children are Wonderful mimics. They'll act exactly like their pa- rents, no matter how hard you try to teach them manners. By Rev. R. B. Warren, B,A„ B.D. The Obligation to be Truthful Exodus 20:16; Matthew 12: 33-35, 26: 69-75a Kamer y Selection: By thy words thou shalt be justified, an(4 by thy words thou shalt be eon demned, Matthew 12:37. The n i n t h commandment is oft en disregarded; sometime* carelessly, sometimes deliberate- ly, We have become so accus- tomed to blurring the truth to suit ourselves that the white of truth and the black of falsehood h ay e intermingled to form at grey, Let us consider a few ex- amples, A man who has just ta- ken some heavy drink, tells his wife that ifthey call him to go to work, say that he is out. Now, he is 'out' alright, 'knocked out'. But he is giving instructions that are intended to deceive, and that is lying. A call comes from the hospital to come, that the sick one has taken a turn for the worse. The next-of-kin arrives to find that the loveda died 1 on half an hour before the call was made. Now what is gained by telling half the truth, and holding backthe most significant part. We know there are circumstances when such information should not be delivered by phone. Why not just summon the person to the hospital without any misrepre- sentation. Authorities are trying to check misrepresentations in advertis- ing. Claims for the product are so often made that are contrary to fact, Many people are de- ceived. In the United States some tobacco companies have had to make drastic changes. Liquor companies are very wary. They do not makesuch claims as: "Guaranteed not to lead toward alcoholism," "Will make you a better driver," "Will improve your morals," "Will make ' you save your money for things you need." They do not make such claims. They just urge people to buy their brand. Propaganda is often a type of lying, Many people are gullible, prior to an election. But the ma- jority don't go to political meet- ings any more because of the frequent presentation of half- truths. Promises, yes; but little emphasis on th cost. Each party is conceited about their own ability. I would like to see an election run, keeping the ninth commandment in mind, and also the Golden Rule, Undoubtedly some individual politicians en- deavour to do this. But the over- all picture is not a good one. SPRUCING UP-Mihailovitch, a Russian wolfhound or borzoi, gets the brush from Mrs. M. Malone; his owner, in Windles- ham, England Dog was en- tered in London show. CROSSWORD PUZZLE i Land 80. Resolving ',e longing into elements to a church 36, Contemptible 9, Jap, aborigine person 10, Better IOcking (slang) 11. Mournful 18. Recreational contest ACROSS 57. Consonant 17.: ortfon 1. Striae DOWN 19. Affirmative ia22. Medieval v 4. violently I 1. Corded fabrics playing card a deb 8, Angle of 23. Penetrate ramification 25. Spheres 8. Openings 3, Disparage 26. Heaving 12 Pressingretired necessity 4. Hebrew letter 27. orsaken 14. ital. coin 6. Moreover by ene's love 16. The pineapple 6. Chill 29. Electrified 18. Brew more 7. Stain particle intense 18. Covered with mud 20. Border on 21. Convene 23. Before . 24. Preposition 26, Title of Mohammed 28. Goth' person 80. Atmosphere 31. Dickens' en name 32, Decompose 38, Bird's bill 34. Twilight 35: Term of endearment 87 Metric land measures 38. Down [prefix) "9, obstinate 40. Actual 42. Inland body of water 44. Appointment to meet 47. Long'ock of hair 51. Roman road 62, Great Lake 68 Month nt the Pr. year 66, Closes 66. ring. river 2 3. 12 15 18 21 F 36. Still 39, Snow runners 41. Operatic snip. 43. Greedy 95. Dry (Var.) 46. Forest 47, Pained southerner 48, Frequently 49. Weep 50. Relatives 54 Myself 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 19 16 22 23 l7 20 14 24 15 26 2.7 28 29 542. 30 31 32 33 34 35. 38 39 y: 36 37 41 42 43 44 45 40 41 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 ti 5 (•5 57 AI ewer elsewhe 'e on this page