Westborough – The Westborough Historical Society will host Ken Ethier Monday, Jan. 0 as he describes the precise, and often dangerous, process of procuring ice in the 19th and early 20th centuries in his talk “The Challenges of Ice Harvesting.” He will display antique ice harvesting tools and describe the cultivation of the ice field, harvest scoring and cutting, and transport.
Ice is taken for granted in homes now that refrigeration prevents our meat from spoiling, our milk from souring and our ice cream from melting. Keeping food cold in hot weather had been a major challenge until Frederic Tudor of Massachusetts provided one answer in 1805. He began the natural ice harvesting business by shipping ice to the West Indies. Demand for New England ice grew across the world until the ice harvesting reached its height in the 1880s.
Ethier became interested in the ice business after interviewing ice harvester Carlton Thomas, who worked for Auburn's Thomas Ice Company 70 years ago. A lecturer on many subjects, Ethier is a member of the Auburn Historical Commission, a board member and past president of the Auburn Historical Society, and a board member of Waters Farm in Sutton.
The program will start at 7 p.m. at the Westborough Historical Society's Sibley House, 13 Parkman St., and is open to the public.
