Memories of Stephenville Ice House, referred to recently Hi, The Old Stephenville Ice house had a floor made of the tops of the Ice molds. Each mold was filled with water, then , when frozen, they pulled metal boxes up as needed and removed the ice, which was placed on an automatic slide chute through the wall to the loading dock. There was a manual trip to pull to let the ice slide out. when the Ice plants in Central Texas closed, farm mechanics bought the old Ice boxes or vaults which stood on end , solid across the floor of the plant. They were split diagonally by cutting torches across the end and down opposite corners and mounted on old tractors, especially the steel wheeled ones as dirt fenders , which made the driver a much happier camper. Old tractors with rounded fenders were factory equipped- the square fenders made in Clifton and Stephenville were custom fit to the tractor. We used to have a cedar Ice Chest in our Johnsville home, 1930's with a double hinged top lid. The ice blocks were placed in first and butter and milk were set on and around the ice. Some had the upright chests with separate doors for food and block ice. Our homes were not locked, and a card was left in the front window with the side up indicating the size of Ice block you wanted. The contract route hauler usually had an old pickup with a heavy canvas tarp pulled over the ice. One Ice Man was a Koonsman- Hugh, best I remember. After World War 1 Elmer Johnson took the route to Johnsville & all points east. No new pickups - or new cars were available. Elmer took a damaged Plymouth Sedan and cut the top off behind the front seat and made a flat bed pickup to haul the ice in. Most Ice haulers were small farmers or cattlemen . We made our ice cream in a wooden bucket with hand crank. It took 2- one to crank and the other to sit on the Freezer on a tow sack to hold it down and keep the ice until we could no longer turn it. Before that, Farmers in Erath County used Galvanized and screened milk coolers with a water pan on top and bottom. A sheet was wrapped around the screen sides and pans were filled,.and evaporation cooled the food and kept butter firm. Before that, milk and butter were placed in a bucket and dripped down a well on a rope, stopping just above the water. My Elementary Teacher Clara Stigler Atkins once quipped that her sisters had to pull the cool food up before meals, as she was so ugly she would sour the milk. She was beautiful to us. In 1950-,my Pontiac wasn't air conditooned, so, on the way back to Fort Polk I would stop at Whitney ice plant and put a 25 pound block of ice in a dishpan in the floor board and open the old Foot vents by the windshield, and rode in air conditioned Comfort. In the Hill Country of Erath County , there were cool springs in unlikely places, almost on level ground, between small rock ledges. Some in Texas used underground natural caverns or dirt floor log top cellars to keep food cool in sulmmer and above freezing in the summer. These became a cooling place for whatever. Grandad Henry Wyly of Selden,Texas- or one of his ancestors- had dug a hole near his windmill to a Rock layer about 5 feet down, then built a stone tank platform to 8 feet above the ground . He had a Cypress floor on the rocks and tank overflow from the windmill would fill the sunken cool water pool and milk cans were kept there until the Route man came for them, or some was needed in the house. This still stands on the Hoelscher Dairy, north of the Dr. Hatchett home that Bud Cook restored. This resembled the old Spring Houses our ancestors dug in Tennessee, only up there they cut the ice from ponds and stacked it in the spring house a few feet deep. If you visit Gatlainburg- Sevlerville, Tennessee go to Marble Springs home of Great Grandad X 8, First Tennessee Governor , Col. John Sevier. It is open to the public. Vess Cola- and Whistle Vess flavors was made in or near the old Stephenville Ice Plant- it is still made elsewhere , but those old Stephenville bottles are collector's items. Take care, Charles A. Wyly P.S. Remember our warnings that anything sent like this is automatically copyrighted.