Sunday , 16 February 2025

North Ridgeville Historical Society

Arti-FACT

North Ridgeville Historical Society member, Karen, is showing an unusual item we have at the museum. What do you think it was used for?

This is an ice saw for cutting blocks of ice from a frozen pond, or creek. Having cold food was a lot of work in the old days. Ice was typically harvested in the months of January and February. Ice harvesters would have to scrape the snow from the pond, and then use an ice plow (sometimes pulled by horses, sometimes used by hand) to score the ice into rows that would then be divided into blocks. The saw pictured here would then be used on the scored lines and a splitting bar would break the block free from the row. Blocks could be 12-24” thick and could weigh up to 300 pounds! These were then hauled to an ice house that was double-walled and insulated with straw or sawdust and these were also strewn across the layers to keep the blocks from freezing together. The home “icebox” was patented in the 1850s and became a great convenience to the homeowner. Think of this when you push that button on your fridge next time!! – North Ridgeville Historical Society

North Ridgeville Historical Society Military Project

Last month, the North Ridgeville VFW hosted a display of North Ridgeville Historical Society’s expanding Military project, which has grown to three notebooks and other memorabilia.

Historical Society member Gene Kleinholz put it all together and was at the VFW to share the hope to include every veteran that has ever lived here in town.

If you are a veteran or know a veteran from any era, please consider sharing your story with the NRHS.  Their collection currently has stories of veterans from the past 200 years- some served at Gettysburg, some fought with George Washington, some were prisoners of war, some are MIA, and others are currently serving.   The NRHS is honored to be the keeper of ALL of their stories. nrhistorical@yahoo.com

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