January’s cold temperatures have produced enough ice for staff at Hanford Mills Museum to announce its annual ice harvest will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25.
As of Monday, Jan. 13, the ice was 5 and a half inches thick, Executive Director Kajsa Harley said in an email Tuesday, Jan. 14.
“We require at least six inches of ice so that we can safely be on the pond,” she said. “The forecast looks promising for more ice growth this week.”
According to the National Weather Service website, the only day within the next six days that temperatures are forecasted to be above freezing is Saturday, with a polar plunge coming from at least Monday through Wednesday next week.
Hanford Mills Museum held its first ice harvest in 1989 and the ice thickness has varied from “just over that amount at least a few times,” to “judging from pictures we had close to two feet of ice one year,” Harley said. “We are delighted that the weather has allowed an ice harvest again this year. It’s a unique event and one that we all look forward to doing when we can.”
The festival was canceled in 2022 because the weather warmed up and melted the ice, and it wasn’t held in 2024 because the ice wasn’t thick enough to harvest.
It was held virtually in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Daily Star archives article said.
“Our most recent Ice Harvest took place in 2023,” she said. “We could only schedule with about a week’s notice, but we had a staff-only cutting and about 300 people attended. We had just enough ice thickness to be able to harvest. Our last large event took place in 2020.”
The event usually draws more than 1,000 visitors, according to previous articles. The area’s “coolest tradition” allows visitors to see the traditional process used to harvest ice, a media release stated.
Farmers used to harvest ice from their ponds using ice saws, ice plows, chisels, pike poles, ice augers, ropes and sleds. They would store the ice in sawdust in an ice house and sell it in the summer before refrigeration was available.
“While the ice isn’t essential for us anymore, it’s a great way for us to demonstrate this important process, and we do take advantage of our ice crop when we are churning and chilling ice cream at our July event,” she said. “We also love the chance to invite folks to join us for a day during our offseason.” The ice will be used July 19 during the Dairy at the Mill event.
Harley said this year’s event will be “focused on the traditional ice harvesting experience this year. Visitors can help move ice blocks from the pond to be loaded into the ice house. We will have a few vendors, including Blue Merle Apiary and Union Grove Distillery. We also hope to have a few blacksmiths on site for demonstrations.”
This year, admission will be by donation rather than the museum’s usual rates. Updates and more information will be available on Facebook, Instagram, and the museum’s website: www.hanfordmills.org.