Lorain Crystal Ice Co. Article – August 14, 1947

Although it’s been rather nice weather-wise around Lorain lately, we did have our share of days in the low 90s earlier this summer.

Well, back in 1947 it was a very hot summer in Lorain with temperatures in the high 90s, with the result of an increased demand for ice. This was good news for the Lorain Crystal Ice Company.

Read all about it in the article below, which appeared in the Lorain Journal on August 14, 1947 – 70 years ago today.

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Any Ice Today, Lady?
Lorain Firm Kept Busy
Heat Boosts Company’s Business; National Tube
Firm’s Best Customer During Torrid Wave

With that mercury flirting with the high 90’s, ice used in lemonade, tea and cold compresses has temporarily replaced bread as the staff of life in Lorain homes.

In many cases, however, the city’s refrigerators, already working overtime, are unable to cope with the demand for ice cubes. So Lorain housewives, always resourceful, are falling back on that old standby – the ice man.

The Lorain Crystal Ice company is distributing between 75 and 90 tons of ice daily to customers in this area, according to Paul Plato, general manager, who says it can’t get too hot to suit his firm.

The high for this summer, he added, was set last week when 98 tons were delivered in the company’s distributing area by its fleet of 22 trucks.

Traces Progress
Tracing the industry from its early days, when ice was cut from the lake in the winter, then stored to be sold in the summer, Plato told how ice deliveries once were made entirely by horse and wagon. He added:

“Horses had it rough, pulling thru the mud after a rain. The best route, in those days, was on Erie-av because it was Lorain’s only paved street.”

Charles Drescher, 1240 6th-st, an employe for 39 years and now superintendent of the drivers and John Toma, 1101 12th-st, the “ice-man who cometh" on the Broadway route and who’s been with the firm 27 years, also recalled those early days, commenting:

“No matter how many electric or gas refrigerators are installed or how many other modern devices are invented, it seems people still prefer ice for many household uses.”

Really Hot in 1921
In 1921, Plato recalled, Lorain experienced an ice shortage because of extremely hot weather. He said:

“That was a really hot time in Lorain; there just wasn’t enough ice to meet the demand.”

That can’t happen any more, he added, explaining that modern manufacturing methods produce a year-round supply faster than it can be consumed. A supply is kept in storage at all times for emergency purposes. The Lorain plant has a storage capacity of 3,000 pounds.

One of the novel innovations in which the local industry pioneered is the ice vending machine, claimed by Plato to be the only one in use in Lorain-co and, perhaps, all Ohio. Plato related:

“When a coin is placed in the slot, the ice falls thru an opening. Some times the gears clog so a buyer hits the jackpot, but generally it works fine.

Plant Best Customer
Ice made here – the Lorain plant employes 24 men – is “farmed” out to several other firms. Plato continued:

“Don’t think ice is limited in its uses. Why, our best customer here is the National Tube company, which uses it to cool water and for other purposes.”

Ice goes to hospitals, for ice packs, refrigeration  and to cool water; it is used by fruit dealers and fish markets and, of course, in night clubs and taverns.

As for the housewife who has her modern refrigerator, she uses ice too, Plato explained, stating:

“You just can’t beat ice for packing any kind of refreshment for the basket picnic or a trip to the ball game."

Lorain Crystal Ice Company – Part 5

A few days after the conclusion of my series on the Lorain Crystal Ice Company, I received an email from Bob Kovach, who has generously contributed many great photos and reminisces to this blog over the years.

Bob has an interesting connection with the Lorain Crystal Ice Company. He wrote, "I have some pictures of the concrete plant that was across from the ice house. I helped tear down the concrete plant in the early 80's while working out of the old ice house for the Sewer Dept."

(As I mentioned on my post, Lorain Crystal Ice Company became Lorain Ready Mixed Concrete in the late 1950s, and the city acquired the property in the 1970s.)

Bob was not only kind enough to share his photos, but he also prepared some special graphics to document the layout of the ice house and the concrete plant, and where they were located relative to the road leading down to Hot Waters.

Here's his map of the area (below).

Bob Kovach's Map showing the layout of the ice house of the former
Lorain Crystal Ice Company, as well as the company's cement plant 

Regarding the ice house, Bob explained, "The only section I can say for sure of being part of the ice house was the first section that was on your left as you drove down the hill towards Hot Waters. It was a huge open area with walls lined with cork. By this time, the cork was deteriorating and falling off. The water dept used it to store cold patch. It did not have a connecting doorway to the next area. 

Compare this photo with Bob's map and explanation at left
to understand the layout of the building

"The next area was not insulated. It had an old wooden staircase that went up to the area with the old wooden barn doors. We could never go up there because the floor for that room was rotting away. The Sewer dept used it to store misc equipment and it did have a door connecting it to the next room. There were some sections in this room that were once lined with wood and behind the wood there was sand. Insulation maybe? Connected by a doorway the next room was a large open area were Sewer Department trucks were kept. The rest of it was just really old block wall rooms."

Next, Bob described what he remembered about the cement plant.

He wrote, "Now about the cement plant. In 1985, the Sewer Dept. was assigned the task of tearing down the structure. I believe that cinder block and possibly red brick were also made there because of the drying kilns and also many broken bags of red colorant of some sort. There was a ladder that went way above the whole structure. Why, I don't know – but you could see way out over the lake."

Here are Bob's photos of the cement plant. The oldest shot (showing the ladder) is from 1973 and the demolition shots are from 1985.

1973 view of cement works

Cement plant loading docks

Cement Works

Cement Works

Cement Works

Cement Works

Control Room

Amazingly, Bob even prepared a special aerial shot of the whole area with labels. I asked him where he got the photo and was surprised by his answer. Bob replied, "I use to rent out a plane and pilot from the flight school at the county airport a few times a year back then. That's what I did for fun!"

Here is Bob's vintage aerial shot of the whole Hot Waters area. You won't find this on Bing Maps!

Bob concluded, "I hope that between my description and map you get a little better idea of how it was set up down there. Wish I took more pictures back then but I am so glad I took what I did."

I am too, Bob – and thanks for sharing and making the story of the Lorain Crystal Ice Company more complete!

Lorain Crystal Ice Company – Part 4

1937 City Directory Listing

Although the Lorain Crystal Ice Company had a few branch locations listed in the 1931 Lorain City Directory, they disappeared in the following year's edition. But sometime in the late 1930s, the company really expanded into multiple branches.

The 1937 list of branch locations included:

• Iowa Avenue
• 934 W. 18th Street
• Northeast corner of East Erie Avenue and Georgia Avenue
• 1008 Fifth Street
• 1524 Lexington Avenue
• 3115 Palm Avenue
• 3230 Seneca Avenue
• 1014 10th Street
• 2124 E. 30th Street
• Northwest corner of E. 31st Court and Vine Avenue
• 220 E. 22nd Street
• Northeast corner of W. 25th Street and Reid Avenue

1945 City Directory Listing

By 1945 the list of branch locations has changed slightly, with a few additions and deletions

• South side of East Erie between Indiana and Iowa Avenues

• Northeast corner of East Erie Avenue and Georgia Avenue

• 934 W. 18th Street

• 1524 Lexington Avenue

• 2125 Oakdale Avenue

• Northwest corner of Oberlin Avenue and W. 20th Street

• 3115 Palm Avenue

• Northwest corner of Seneca Avenue and E. 33rd Street

• Northwest corner of 10th Street and Reid Avenue

• 2124 E. 30th Street

• Northwest corner of E. 31st Court and Vine Avenue 

• 220 E. 32nd Street

• Northeast corner of W. 25th Street and Reid Avenue

The 1947 City Directory was the last book to feature multiple branch locations. By the time of the 1950 book, there was only one branch listed (the Vine Avenue location) and by the 1952 book there were no branches listed at all.

Courtesy Paula Shorf

The personnel connected with the company were remarkably consistent through the years. By the time of the 1958 directory, the Dorn family was still involved, with Randolph J. Dorn as president. The 1958 directory was also the last time that the company would be listed in the directory under its original name.

Through the years, the company had also offered ready mixed concrete and building supplies along with its ice product. Apparently by the end of the 1950s, the time was right to make a change. The company took the name of Lorain Ready Mixed Concrete. Its listing in the directories continued under that name through the 1972 directory until it disappeared forever.

The 1973 directory included the listing for Myles Industries at 120 Oberlin Avenue, but the address went vacant in the 1974 book.

After that, the facility became part of the City of Lorain's Department of Utilities for many years. The building was eventually demolished, bringing to a close the history of one of Lorain's oldest and well-known companies.

The former home of Lorain Crystal Ice Company (the brick building) in 2003

You can see the empty lot where  the Lorain Crystal Ice building
was located where Oberlin Avenue meets First Street

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UPDATE (March 5, 2015)

Click here to read Part 5 of this history and see photos of the cement plant before and during demolition in the 1980s.

Lorain Crystal Ice Company – Part 3

May 26, 1933 Newspaper ad

Above is a small ad for the Lorain Crystal Ice Company that appeared as part of a full-page of advertising for the opening of the Deutschof in May of 1933.

The Lorain Crystal Ice Company suffered a loss in May 1935 with the death of William Seher. As reported in the Sandusky Register of May 15, 1935, "William Seher, 67, native of Sandusky and president of the Lorain Crystal Ice Co., died Monday at his home In Lorain." It noted that he moved to Lorain from Sandusky in 1895, and became manager of the Cleveland-Sandusky brewery at 330 12th Street in Lorain until Prohibition. His obituary also stated that in 1919 he started the Seher Bottling Co. of which he was president and manager, and that he entered the ice business in 1898.

This ad (below) for Lorain Crystal Ice Company appeared in the Lorain Journal and Times Herald on July 26, 1939.

For many young people today, it's probably hard to believe that before today's modern refrigerators became the norm, families had to have a block of ice delivered to their house by the "ice man" and placed in their "ice box" to keep their food fresh.

My mother remembers that her family's ice box was located in a little shed built on to the rear of their house on Sixth Street. The outside location worked out well because the ice man could deliver the ice without coming into the house. Also, the melting ice necessitated draining the ice box occasionally, and it was easier to do it outside.

The fascinating Ice Box Memories website has a whole page devoted to ice cards. What were ice cards? As the website explains, "Ice Cards were placed in windows so the iceman had a visual indication of the amount of ice to bring to the ice box."

Here is the card from the Ice Box Memories website for the Lorain Crystal Ice Company (below).

Courtesy Ice Box Memories website

Lorain Crystal Ice Company – Part 2

The Lorain Crystal Ice Company seemed to appear in the trade journals quite regularly in its early years.

Cold Storage and Ice Trade Journal, Volume 44 (March 1912) included a mention of the company. "The plant of the Lorain Crystal Ice Co. is being overhauled and remodeled, new apparatus added, and the 50-ton ice tanks equipped with a gravity feed ammonia circulating system, which will increase thier capacity to about 65 tons per day. These improvements are being made by The Cleveland Ice Machine Co., Cleveland, Ohio."

An article in Coal Age from December 1914 stated, "The Lorain Crystal Ice Co. has started the erection of a large storage plant for coal to hold 1200 tons. It will be completed by Jan. 1.

A Three-ton truck delivering ice for 72 cents a ton
(From December 1915 Refrigeration journal)

The December 1915 edition of Refrigeration included a detailed article about the use of motor trucks by ice companies, with a paragraph devoted to the Lorain Crystal Ice Company. The article stated, "Valuable figures on the cost of using motor trucks in wholesale transfer work are furnished by the Lorain Crystal Ice Company of Lorain, O. This company supplies ice to the National Tube Company, one of the biggest industrial concerns in the state of Ohio, having about 10,000 employees and being a heavy consumer of ice seven months in the year. A three-ton truck is employed to haul ice exclusively from the artificial plant in Lorain to the plant of the National Tube Company on the opposite side of the town. This truck, placed in service on May 1, 1913, is hauling ice a distance of 3 1/2 to 5 miles and making from six to seven trips daily at a cost of 72 cents per ton, including repairs, depreciation, driver, helper, and all other legitimate charges. In the second year of service the cost of hauling was less than the first year."

Here's the company's listing in the 1915-16 Lorain City Directory (below).

Lorain Crystal Ice Company – Part 1

I found this old Lorain Crystal Ice Company ice pick in my father's workbench, and it brought back some memories.

My parents had long told me about having ice delivered to their houses when they were kids in the 1920s and 30s, and how it was a treat to get some small ice chips to suck on from the back of the truck in the summer (if the delivery man was a nice guy). My mother also remembered going down to the company's Oberlin Avenue plant with her father and buying it there from a sort of vending machine. There was a slot to put your coins in, and then the block of ice would clunk its way down a chute so that you could take it home.

Anyway, here's some history about this iconic Lorain company.

A Standard History of Lorain County Ohio Volume II by G. Frederick Wright (1916) includes information about the people behind the Lorain Crystal Ice Company, as well as information about the early days of the business.

The entry for Albert A. Plato reads, "That he is not lacking in the mature judgment and resourcefulness implied in his classical family name, is shown by the position which Mr. Plato holds in connection with the more important industrial activities of the City of Lorain, where he is the general manager of the Crystal Ice Company, engaged in the manufacturing of artificial ice on an extensive scale. This company was organized in 1907 and was incorporated with a capital stock of $65,000, which was increased in 1914 to $75,000. The personnel of the company official corps is as here noted: William Seher, president; John S. Dorn, vice president; August Kuebeler, secretary; Edward A. Brown, treasurer; and Albert A. Plato, general manager. The plant of the company occupies a substantial modern building 130 by 150 feet in dimensions, a portion of the same having a height of three stories and the remainder of two stories. The establishment has a capacity for the output of fifty tons of ice daily, and a storage capacity for 3,000 tons. Employment is given to an average force of thirty men and the enterprise virtually represents one of the most important public utilities of the thriving City of Lorain.

The listing for Mr. Plato also explains why there seems to be a discrepancy as to when the Lorain Crystal Ice Company was founded. (The online History of Lorain, Ohio Chronology states that the firm was founded in 1904). It explains that in May of 1904, Mr. Plato "assumed the position of collector for the Lorain & Elyria Ice & Coal Company. Upon the reorganization of the corporation in 1907, as the Crystal Ice Company of Lorain, Mr. Plato was made general manager, of which responsible office he has since continued the efficient and valuable incumbent."

Here is the company's listing in the 1912 City Directory (below).