There is lots of fun planned for the annual Lake Mills Main Street Program’s Knickerbocker Ice Festival, scheduled for Saturday, February 4. Look for the ever-popular ice sculptures around downtown Lake Mills, Iceberg Open Golf Tournament and Ice Fisheree on Rock Lake, games in the park, and a chili cook-off at Carp’s.
We will again hold a raffle for cash prizes – look for the strolling raffle ticket sellers around downtown Lake Mills on Saturday. Tickets will be $5 for 1 ticket, or 5 tickets for $20.
Ice carvers will invade downtown Lake Mills beginning at 9am on Saturday, and will be working on their carvings all day.
At 10am, the Knickerbocker King and Queen will be crowned at TT’s Time Out. You can also register for the Iceberg Open Golf Tournament that starts at 10:30am.
The Ice Fisheree will begin at 6am and continue until the late afternoon. The Wrap Up Party will take place at Sportsman’s Pub – winners will be announced and prizes will be handed out.
Carp’s Landing Restaurant will host their annual Fire & Ice Chili Cook-Off from noon until 2pm. Contestants will compete for cash prizes in three chili categories – red, white and green. Judging will be done by the event goers who will pay a flat fee of $5 to sample each chili and rate their favorites. The chili in each category with the most votes will win that category. Carp’s will follow up the Chili Cook-Off with live music later in the day.
On Saturday, Feb. 4th at noon, Lewis Station Winery will be releasing their Ice Wine in tribute to the Knickerbocker Ice festival. The wine, “Knickerbocker Ice” is made from grapes frozen on the vine. This is a dessert wine that you’ll be able to sample for the first time during this festival. Ice wine is a special treat and we’re thrilled that our own winery will be creating this delicacy!
Do you love horse and wagon rides? From noon to 4pm on Saturday, Thundering Acres will have their horses at the ready to take you on a snowy Knickerbocker ride through Lake Mills. They will load up at Commons Park on Lake Street.
Water House Foods will be in their new location, just down the block on Lake Street, but much much bigger than ever before! This will be their first weekend in their new home, and you won’t want to miss it!
Commons Park will be the setting for the Snow Ball Eating Contest, the Fish Toss and the IdiderDAD race, scheduled to start at 1:30. Competitors in the Snow Ball Eating Contest will be eating Hostess Snow Balls – yum! The Frozen Fish Toss will be like an old-fashioned egg toss, with teams of two tossing the fish back and forth across an ever-widening space. Drop the fish and get disqualified. The IdiderDAD race will harness Dads to sleds, with a kid of their choice on board.
Specific event information and registration forms can be found here:
- Hockey Tournament – Saturday, January 28
- Ice Carving Demo – Sunday, January 29
- Trivia Night – Friday, February 3
- Ice Fisheree – Saturday, February 4
- Ice Carving – Saturday, February 4
- Iceberg Open Golf – Saturday, February 4
- Fire & Ice Chili Cook-off - Saturday, February 4
- Wagon Rides – Saturday, February 4
- Family Games in the Park – February 4
Many thanks to our Gold Sponsors for 2012: Greenwoods State Bank and Lakeland Cold Storage!
Knickerbocker Ice Company History
Rock Lake’s high quality water and close proximity to nearby urban markets made it an ideal location for the ice harvesters of the late Victorian era. In January of 1890 the Washington Ice Company built a huge ice warehouse on the shores of Rock Lake where Sandy Beach is now located. The four story, 600 foot long building could hold 50,000 tons of ice and had a 44 foot high slide ramp.
In 1900 the Knickerbocker Ice Co. purchased the building. At this time its ice capacity had doubled to 100,000 tons of ice. The building was so large that the flat topped roof as used as a baseball diamond.
Ice harvesting technology at the turn of the century was very basic. Ice was harvested by cutting a checkerboard pattern into the lake using horse-drawn saws. The blocks of ice were then hoisted from the freezing water and stored in ice houses until warmer weather created a demand. This ice was kept frozen by its sheer bulk; the more tightly it could be packed together the longer it would stay cold.
In its heyday the Knickerbocker Ice Company employed over 200 men to cut and store the winter bounty of Rock Lake. So many workers were imported for the harvest that it was both disturbing and profitable for the community. The men were boarded on site and paid $1.25 per day. In 1909 the ice harvest was completed on March 4 and 1,000 carloads of ice were harvested at 25 tons per car!
The ice industry eventually became a victim of its own success. America’s appetite for ice spurred technology to create mechanical methods of freezing. Home delivery of ice continued thru the 20’s but by the 30’s electric refrigerators replaced ice boxes in most households.
Mother Nature also helped bring the era of the large ice house to an end. The Knickerbocker Ice House was hit buy tornadoes in 1909 and again in 1914. Though there was still harvesting for a number of years after the near destruction of the building, it would never come close to what it was. The last harvest was in 1919 and by 1922 Sandy Beach Resort opened ushering in the change from winter to summer industry on Rock Lake.
The 2012 Historic Lake Mills Photo calendar is out! Only $10 this year and no advertising – what a great gift idea! Order here or buy at The Rose Gallery, Lake Street Emporium, City Offices or the Chamber of Commerce.
Legendary Ghost Stories of Lake Mills is back!!
Get your copy of this award winning book! Only $15 (plus shipping); 45 pages, softcover, original photography by Nicole Cooke Photography. We are currently on the second printing of this popular book – don’t miss your chance to own an intriguing bit of Lake Mills history and lore!
