Then And Now: The Iceman In Lynnfield

Like many New England towns of a certain age, Lynnfield was once home of an ice harvesting enterprise. Back in those days, there was enough ice to have horses and saw men standing around out on what is apparently Pillings Pond, or possibly Suntaug Lake. In this area, I know that ice harvesting also occurred on Wenham Lake.

Up where I used to live in New Hampshire, it was also a big business in the Lakes Region. In fact, I remember there was one resort up there on Winnipesaukee that even continued to use old fashioned "ice boxes" all summer long using ice harvested from the winter before. On a random side note, somewhere along the line, the Marx Brothers also had a pretty funny bit in one of their movies where they were posing as ice men.

This particular image shows an ice business working in town in 1924. It looks like a thriving business, but in less than two decades, it was going to get very obsolete, very quickly as homes began filling their new electric freezers with all kinds of factory-frozen food.

Each week, these photos are provided by the Lynnfield Historical Society. Are you interested in joining them? Just send a $15 check to Bob Gillon, Lynnfield Historical Society Treasurer, 300 Main Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940. Include your mailing address, email address and phone number.