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"The Ice Man"

by John Harvey

In looking over some notes used in some articles last year, I came across the announcement of the opening of the Monticello Ice Plant in 1923. With all the hot and humid weather we've been having lately, remembering the "ice plant" of my youth brought back some cooling memories.

Remember how you could go by the door that opened on to South Street and pick up a 10 cent block of ice, which would then be balanced on the front or back bumper of your car, taken home and put in the "ice box". At dinner time you could ship off enough to fill all the tea glasses and have enough to make a freezer of ice cream in the afternoon.

That glass of tea usually was laced with lemon juice and a sprig of wild mint you'd brought in earlier in the morning from one of the nearby springs s that were still kept open year after Monticello had "city water" I especially remember the taste of the wild mint that grew around the Bartlet Spring and the Sharping Spring, two of the springs behind our house on Forsyth Street. These two springs were two of the seven springs that the early settlers of Monticello found within 50 yards of the Square.

In my early days, I remember Jim Pryor and Charlie Jordan driving the ice wagon around town to make ice deliveries. Each house had a card with a space cut out and the back of the card had a circular wheel on the back. On the circular wheel was printed the size block of ice you wanted: 5, 10, 25 cents, etc. You turned the wheel around to the size piece you wanted and hung the card on the front porch where it could be seen from the street.

The iceman would then chip off the size block you wanted from the large blocks he had on the wagon. Sometimes he would let you jump up on the tailgate and get one of the chips that broke off to carry around in your mouth for a while.

Change came to the ice business as in other thing. The ice man exchanged his wagon for a truck and then when refrigerators became efficient there was no more business for the iceman.

Another memory that I have is of one of the largest watermelons I can remember frozen inside a 300 pound block of ice.

Additional Comments:
Transcribed by Suzanne Forte (suzanneforte@bellsouth.net) April 2005, from copies of articles contained in the Monticello News. There articles were prepared by Mr.
John Harvey and published in this newspaper during the 1970's and 1980's time frame. Some were under the title "Jasper Reflections", others "Bicentennial Bits".
Permission has been granted by Mr. Harvey for use of these very valuable and informative articles.

Copies of articles provided by Benny Hawthorne.