Ramsey County History – Fall 1988: “A Record Setting Winter—And the Ice Harvest on Lake Owasso”

A Record Setting Winter—And the Ice Harvest on Lake Owasso
Author: Neill J. O’Neill

As a lad in the mid-1930s, the author worked three seasons harvesting ice on Lake Owasso in suburban Ramsey County. He recalls in detail how the ice harvest worked—the equipment, the procedures, the job hierarchy, and the skills. “No ballet called for better timing as the packers alternately sailed heavy ice blocks smoothly across the icy surface to be packed in place,” the author wrote. Pay came only after the harvest was done and would often all be spent in one night without much regret the next day.

PDF of O’Neill article