Old Missoula

N. P. Ice Harvest To Start Tomorrow – Missoulian 1/7/1926

Railroad to Put Up 20,000 Tons on Local Division; 8,000 Tons Come Here.

The annual ice harvest on the Northern Pacific system is starting. Cutting at Homesteak, 10 miles east of Butte, will be begun tomorrow for the local division of the railroad. In all 20,000 tons will be cut for use on the division.

Men and equipment are being sent out to start the work and it is said that 8,000 tons will be packed at the Missoula storage houses. At Helena 7,500 tons will be packed and the rest will be distributed to the stations and sections on the division.

The annual harvest on the railroad is a large undertaking, according to railroad men. Workmen, experienced in the handling of ice and equipment, are provided for. The railroad company has use for large quantities of ice during the season for cooling purposes on the trains.

Refrigerator cars which carry perishable products must be iced at intervals and for this purpose alone thousands of tons of ice are required during the summer months.

Besides Homestake, in western Montana, the Northern Pacific secures part of its ice supply at Ulmer, in eastern Montana, and at Cocololla, Idaho. However, it is expected that most of it will come from Homestake.

The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on January 7, 1926.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/349042747

Ulmer is located on the line between Forsythe and Miles City. A German hardware pioneer, George Ulmer was a successful hardware merchant in Miles City and built a classic home there. Today, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Miles City.

Cocololla is located near Cocololla Lake a few miles south of Sand Point, Idaho. The ice operation at Cocololla was huge. In 1922, “one hundred and ten cars are being loaded daily,” according to the website below.

http://selkirkloop.org/city/cocolalla-id/