Jack Regan, John Miller, Korey Seifer and Kris Burke
by GIna Greco
The Raquette Lake Ice Harvest held on Satruday, February 27 was a success despite the above average temperatures and the unusual amount of rain for this time of year.
Jim Dillon, owner of Raquette Lake Supply and the organizer of the event, uses the harvested ice to help keep the coolers cold at his store and in the Tap Room.
This is a tradition that dates back over a hundred years.
Photos by Gina Greco Continue reading
By Marianne Christy
Tom Smedley, right, monitors the harvesting of ice blocks from Raquette Lake in this 2014 file photo by Gina Greco.
Raquette Lake Supply Company has begun plowing and prepping for the annual Raquette Lake Ice Harvest on Saturday, February 7, a tradition that dates back over a hundred years.
Pre-cutting of the ice, which is currently estimated at 18-inches thick, has begun by a team of volunteers who are working to open up the channel so the ice can be moved up the lake. Continue reading
Raquette Lake Supply Company has begun preparations for the annual Raquette Lake Ice Harvest on Saturday, February 1, a tradition that dates back over a hundred years.
Raquette Lake Ice Harvest activity from 2013.
File photo
Pre-cutting of the ice, which is currently 12 to 16 inches thick, has begun by a team of volunteers who are working to open up the channel so the ice can be moved up the lake.
On Saturday at 8 a.m., they will team up to make the final cuts and help push the cubes of ice down the channel and up onto a conveyor belt to be transported by truck to the ice house at Raquette Lake Supply. Continue reading
Photo by Theresa Taylor
Jim Dillon (who happens to be one of the nicest guys you are ever going to meet) annually throws a dart at his “pin up” oil truck calendar and whatever Saturday in February it lands closest to becomes the day of the Annual Ice Harvest in Raquette Lake.
Okay, not really.
Generally, the date of the harvest is determined by the amount of ice and the availability and proper running order of the equipment used. (Sometimes the Adirondack Museum has it on display and/or the rubber bands, bungee cords and duct tape have to be replaced.)
Photo by Theresa Taylor
Another factor is the availability of the 4th, and now 5th, generations of Dillons who along with their strappingly young and strong friends make the road trip to be enslaved for a day or two by Uncle Jim.
This year someone with the foresight of an eagle, started plowing the ice job area shortly after freeze over which kept it free of this season’s huge (note the sarcasm) snow accumulations.
This produced crystal clear (minus a few weeds) ice blocks measuring halfway to your hips (if you’re six feet tall) by a little wider than your hips (if you’ve been on this planet 50 years or more).
This is a precise measurement so as not to strain the conveyor belts or the assortment of aged workers.
The stars seemed to be lining up as the Adirondack Museum had no dibs on the ice harvesting equipment, or on Jim or any of his brothers for that matter. Continue reading