Loading ice, Presque Isle Stream, 1946
Contributed by Presque Isle Historical Society
Description
These Presque Isle Ice Company employees, from left, Chet Payne, [?] Willette, and Ken Allen, are guiding ice to a conveyor from the Presque Isle Stream in 1946.
Ice picks are used to guide ice chunks from the stream to a conveyor. The conveyor takes the ice to the ice storage building shown in the photograph.
Each ice block is approximately 24 inches x 24 inches by 20 inches and weighs about 260 pounds. Many of these ice blocks eventually were used to cool Bangor and Aroostook Railroad refrigerator cars for shipping potatoes.
Cement blocks were manufactured in the small building on the left.
Joe Gagnon purchased the ice operation from Cecil McCready in 1946 and ran the business until the mid 60s.
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