Yesterday’s post was about the Westwood frozen millpond when temperatures dropped to -30. Below zero temperatures used to occur on a regular basis during the winter months in this part of California. Over a century ago, it was an important fact of life, as the frigid temperatures were needed. The following is from an old post that explains why:

Way before the day of refrigeration, in colder climates ice was harvested, whether from a stream, pond or lake. Though by the 1920s, the practice slowly began to fade away with the advent of refrigeration.  Locally, ice was harvested from the Susan River, and two focal points were the Bremner dam in the Susan River canyon and the other at Dawson dam near Johnstonville that provided power for the Lassen Flour Mill. Roy Sifford, born in 1893 and raised in Susanville, recounts in his memoirs that in 1910: “I hauled ice from the ponds at Johnstonville to the stores and bars in Susanville–$2.00 a load delivered. In twelve hours I could haul four loads receiving $8.00 a day, paid in cash!”

Tim