To the editor:

The recent announcement that they are going to tear down the old ice plant building brought on a bout of nostalgia to me.

The ice plant put me through college and law school. For about seven years from 1927 to 1933, I worked the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift selling ice off the dock to people who for one reason or another didn't get home delivery that day.

At that time, the 600 block of Vermont Street was not one-way, and on very hot days, cars would be lined up nearly to Seventh Street to buy ice.

Every house in town was served with home delivery of ice. The company had both trucks and horse-drawn wagons, but most of the delivery men preferred the horses. Horses are more intelligent than trucks. They would pull the wagon up to the next house, thus saving the driver the need of getting in and out of the driver's seat.

Customers had cardboard signs with the numerals 25, 50, 75 and 100 printed in the corners. The customer would hang out the sign with the number at the top indicating the number of pounds of ice needed.

Imagine carrying 75 or 100 pounds of ice up the steps to the houses on the side of Mount Oread -- at 75 cents per hour.

I felt like an ungrateful wretch when we bought our first mechanical refrigerator.

Milton P. Beach,
1452 Brighton Circle.