Hi Dave, You just reminded me of a story I could mention. When my father got out of the Army Air Corps after fighting in WW II, he got a job as an "appliance repairman" for a small, family-operated store. He would travel around to different cities and towns to repair the appliances in the people's homes. This would have been the late '40's and '50's. And it was not just a few times when he would go to someone's home to see what was wrong with the "fridge," only to discover that it was not plugged in ! The person had to pay for the "service call" anyways. (And my father also said that, when he had to drive down to Cape Cod for a service call during the summertime, the "lady of the house" was sometimes - not appropriately attired.) And, we vacationed in the log cabins at what we always called "Ashby State Park" for at least 10 years as children. And, there was the "ice box" on the front steps of the (authentic) log cabin. On the way from Arlington, MA, to Ashby, MA (one hour 1950's driving time), we had to stop in a nearby town to buy the "blocks of ice" - from an "ice store" - can't think of what it was called. I think it was actually in NH that we went. And, I think you just reminded me that the block of ice did go into the top, and we did have to empty the water later. (When we first started staying at those log cabins, there was no water or electricity in the cabin. When we arrived for the week's vacation, that night we had to walk up to the Ranger's Cabin with a few pails and containers to get water from their outside faucets. Later they brought water to the cabins and we got to use the "pump" in the kitchen.) Oh, speaking of State Parks (US), I learned a new word last night. I had picked up a Nashua, NH, newspaper yesterday (good comics for hubby), and there was a small article. It said that some of the State Parks in NH now have cabins and .. yurts ...! Because hubby is a big reader of books, he knew what they were. But, I had to learn that they are .. sort of .. cabins made of canvas walls. Betty (near Lowell, MA, USA) List Administrator FYI: After my father moved his growing family from his grandmother's farmhouse to an old, abandoned house he bought, and we settled in, he started going to college -- nights ! The same year I graduated from high school, he graduated with an Assoc. Degree from college, and was able to stop being an appliance repairman. He began a career as a "technical writer." And he had already insisted that all of his children would --go-- to college. ----- Original Message ----- From: <Piercedav@aol.com> To: <can-usa-migration@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 6:22 AM Subject: [CAN-USA-MIG] foods in the 40s > > As a small child, we had two iceboxes which were actually > cooled by placing a chunk of ice into the top of the box and it > was one of my chores each morning to empty the water from the > pan in the bottom. These were kept in the pantry and one was > used for meats and the other was a general purpose box. It was > a wonderful day when my dad brought home a regular refridgerator. > Lord but that thing was ugly and we had to remember to unplug it > during an electrical storm. War-time rationing was a very hard thing > to endure. It wasn't until after the war that we were treated in our > area of Vermont to access to a business that was always called > "The Freezer Locker" . This was located on the Beebe Road in > Derby Line . The technology came to us from the Canucks. > Yay for our side ! > > Dave

G'Day, Here downunda some folks in the city or big towns had iceboxes, but out bush where ice could not be got, Aussies used a contraption called a "Koolgardie safe" -- named after a remote mining town Koolgardie. How they work is a tin box of various kinds either had a pan built in at the bottom, or sat in a tin pan, with water in it; hessian was draped over the box so the ends dangled in the water, the capilliarity of the hessian would draw water up and the heat of the atmosphere dried it out, causing a cooling effect (a bit like an evaporative air conditioner). They actually work very well, I've used improvised Koolgardies at various times, the best thing for improvising is a steel washing machine drum sitting in a pan with a hessian sack for the cover. knew a bloke who kept meat frsh for a week in 40 degree heat in one. and yurts are fairly popular with the alternative community around Australia. Wishing everyone well, Willow in Australia