Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Itís no secret that time and progress have covered many aspects of Forest Lakeís past. But a small piece of the cityís past has been unearthed, thanks to the downtown municipal parking lot and park project that is winding down this fall.

In August, workers from Forest Lake Contracting uncovered several tools, an old horseshoe and two license plates that had been buried for nearly 60 years.

The tools were once used in an ice house business situated near todayís boat landing in Lakeside Memorial Park, directly east of Ersfeldís Meat Market. The business operated in Forest Lake for more than 30 years providing block ice to homes and businesses 12 months of the year.

Bob Moorhouse, construction superintendent and a lifelong area resident, is safeguarding the old tools and the license plates from 1948 and the stateís centennial in 1949.

The tools are relics from what was once a thriving business in Forest Lake. In its final years, the ice house business operated in 40-foot-by-140-foot building constructed in 1935 to store the 20-inch-by-36-inch ice blocks that were carved and pulled from the water of First Lake.

When crews were excavating for the parking lot and utilities for the revamped city parking lot late this summer, the tools were unearthed.

The tools were used in the winter harvest. One of the larger pieces was used to help split the blocks in the frozen lake surface. The other tools were used as hooks.

A horseshoe found deep in the ground appears to have spikes that may indicate it was used on horses working in areas where more traction was necessary, Moorhouse said.

Ice business history

The ice house business saw its start under the ownership of George Landgraver. In the early 1920s he sold the business to Louis Mitchell.

The ice harvest business continued until the arrival of electrical refrigerators that made the ice box obsolete. For many years, the business provided the ice that Forest Lake residents and business owners needed to preserve food.

Wagons pulled by horses were used in the early days. Ice was delivered six days a week.

Each winter the harvest would begin when the ice depth reached 22 inches of thickness. Ice workers would sweep snow from a large area of ice to help form smooth, deep and clear ice for the harvest.

When the harvest began, workers would cut grooves in the ice and use a split fork and 40-inch splitting saw to separate the blocks. A channel was also cut in the ice leading to the shore.

Cakes were floated to shore where a hoist and conveyor were used to move the huge blocks to the ice house for storage. Cakes were stacked eight inches apart in the building and covered with 12 inches of sawdust to keep them frozen during the warm weather months.

In the occasional 90 degree days of summer, workers in the ice house wore woolen clothes because of the cold and dampness in the building where the ice was stored.

The last ice house was constructed in 1935 and was used until the business closed in the mid-1940s. A Rudy Whitman was one of the final owners.

In 1935, old Forest Lake Times newspaper accounts put the ice harvest at 8500 cakes.

Forest Lake homes could receive ice delivery for $1 a week or $3 a month. A business would pay $3 to $10 with the higher charges coming during the summer months when demand was higher.

For a number of years, Mitchell also operated an ice store where cakes were sold directly to customers. The store was situated on the south end of N. Lake Street where Park Place stands today.

Will be preserved

Moorhouse said the items unearthed this summer will be preserved until the day comes when Forest Lake has a museum.

That prospect has been discussed with little results since the 1993 Centennial, he said.

Moorhouse says he would like more hard facts about the items unearthed but understands that those details may be lost to time.

He has tried to find details related to the license plates but has had no luck in researching state records.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605