Horse Races on the Ice
Before there were fast cars there were fast horses. Horse owners boasted of their steeds’ speed and horse races were a popular form of entertainment. During the winter horse races were held on lakes wherever there was good ice with a light cover of snow. Such races were regularly held between Haskin’s Point and Brass Point Bridge where there was a good expanse of ice. Notices for these races appeared in both American and Canadian newspapers.
Horse races did not draw universal approval; they were often held on Sunday and there was always wagering involved along with the consumption of liquor. Several young men were expelled from the Methodist congregation in Seeley’s Bay for attending the ice races.
On one notable occasion in April 1885 the liquor inspector for Leeds attended the races and attempted to confiscate the liquor being sold at a stand but was prevented from doing so and was roughed up in the process. It was claimed that the liquor stand was out of his jurisdiction because it was in Pittsburg Township. The matter was resolved before a magistrate in that jurisdiction.
Before there were refrigerators there were iceboxes to maintain cool temperatures for perishable foodstuffs. Households that had iceboxes relied on a local icehouse for their supply of ice which was harvested in February and March when the lakes had developed a thick layer of ice.
In the nineteenth century ice was cut into blocks using a long saw with a handle on one end; the blocks were loaded on sleighs to be taken to the ice house where they were packed with sawdust. By the 1920s saws driven by internal combustion engines were used to cut the ice blocks. Some businesses – butchers and cheese factories, had their own ice houses to provide ice to keep products cool during the summer.
A cubic foot of ice weighs about 55 lbs and a block of ice normally weighed over 150 lbs. Blocks were handled with a large set of iron tongs used to drag the blocks. Anyone handling blocks of ice quickly learned to keep their feet clear of the blocks.
