What could be more fun than family games in Commons Park? Saturday, February 4 from 1pm until mid-afternoon, enjoy the popular returning events, games and contests that Knickerbocker is famous for! The Sled Parade starts at 1pm, and the rest of the festivities will begin at 1:30pm.
Our thanks to the 2012 sponsors of the Knickerbocker games:
A perfect addition to a perfect day in Lake Mills! Thundering Acres will be offering wagon rides from noon until 4pm. Watch for him to pull his team of steeds up to Commons Park along Lake Street and hitch a ride with Keith Kulow. This is a favorite addition to our fun Knickerbocker day, and a great way to see the beautiful Lake Mills community on a snowy day!
Play like a pro on our Nick Jackelson-approved golf course on beautiful, iced-over Rock Lake! Stefanie Wells of Calamity Janes fame has each hole decorated in winter splendor.
You will use one club (don’t bring your bag!) and we will supply the ball.
$10 per person.
Registration at 9:30am at TT’s Time Out – 107 South Main Street
10:30am tee off on Rock Lake at Bartel’s Beach
Bring your warmest knickers, grab a club and face the ROCK!
Iceberg Open wrap-up party and winners announced at TT’s.
Ages 13 and older only. Players between 13 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
This event is sponsored by the Lake Mills Golf Club – under new ownership and coming back strong this spring!
Are you ready for the Knickerbocker Ice Fisheree on Saturday, February 4? From 6am to 5pm, be one with frozen Rock Lake and see how you (or your fish) measure up to the rest of the contestants!
Fish will be measured utilizing the point system below.
One fish per person, caught on Rock Lake the day of the fisheree. Measuring will be held at the north end of the lake and off Bartel’s Beach – look for the Fisheree banners.
You must have your fish measured by our official before releasing! Call 920-723-2389 to check the leaderboard, have your fish measured, and for information.
Catch and release appreciated!
Did we mention that there will be prizes?
The Fisheree Wrap-up Party will be held at 6pm at Sportsman’s Pub – 133 North Main Street. Winners will be announced at that time. Lots of extra prizes and goodies at Sportsman’s.
Registration will be available at Party Mart as of Tuesday, 1/24/12 – 7124 Highway V – 648-5322. Please register before the event, or between 5am and 7am the day of the event. Registration closes at 7am on 2/4/12.
Party Mart has the registration forms for you to fill out, but if you want to download a copy to bring in to Party Mart you can do so by clicking on fisheree_rules_map.
The Lake Mills Main Street Program thanks the following sponsors of the Fisheree:
Think you make the best chili? Prove it! Carp’s Landing is again hosting the popular Fire & Ice Chili Cook-off. Make a red chili, or make an “other” chili – white, green or maybe purple??? Your recipe, your choice! It’s tough competition, but what have you got to lose???
Cash prizes for the winners.
Want to eat chili but not make it? We’ve got you covered! Come in to Carp’s Landing between noon and 2pm on Saturday, 2/4/12 and pay a flat fee of $5 to taste test the crock-pots of chili in the contest. Vote on the winning chilis and brag about knowing the winner when the votes are all tallied up!
Download the knicker_chili_entry_form_2012 and fire up your crock-pot!
It’s time for the second annual Knickerbocker Ice Festival HOCKEY TOURNAMENT, scheduled for Saturday, January 28 at Sandy Beach!
Be sure to sign your team up soon for this popular event. This tournament will reflect USA Hockey/championship rules. Teams will consist of 5 adult players maximum, have a 3-game guarantee, and play in a 3-on-3 format. There are divisions for all skill levels (men and women), and awards will be made to division champions. There is a 20 team maximum for the tournament, and face-off begins at 9am.
Food, drinks and WARMTH will be provided by Hering’s Sand Bar.
Each player will receive a voucher for participating Lake Mills’ pubs and eateries.
Registration is $50 per team. Contact Steve Baumann for registration forms – urabiff@charter.net – or call him at 608-575-8384.
Note: In case of inclement weather on January 28, the tournament will be played on Saturday, February 4.
Many thanks to our 2012 Knickerbocker Hockey Tournament sponsors:
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 a chili cook-off at Carp’s and an ice wine release at Lewis Station Winery.
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. This will be a 50/50 raffle – the more tickets we sell, the bigger the “halves” will be!
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 6pm 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 two chili categories – red and “other.” 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 Sled Parade at 1pm, and 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 winner gets an incredibly cute fish hat knit by our very own yarn store owner, Karen Anderson of Kaleidoscope Fibers! 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:
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.
Schedule of events and shopping and dining specials.
There’s lots of fun planned for the forth annual Lake Mills Main Street Program’s Knickerbocker Ice Festival, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 4 & 5. Besides the ice sculptures, Iceberg Open golf tournament (download registration here) and ice fisheree (download registration form) on Rock Lake, games in the park, chili cook-off, and Team Trivia Contest there will be a number of new events including a Hockey Tournament at Sandy Beach, a Knickerbocker King and Queen and a decorated sled parade.
The Hockey Tournament will feature five person teams, a maximum of 20 teams may sign up, and each team will play 3 games. Play will start at 9 am on Saturday and will conclude at approximately 9 that evening. Anyone interested in participating is asked to contact Steven Baumann at 608.575.8384. Sponsoring businesses are Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. and Trek bikes.
The Team Trivia Contest will start at 7:00 and continue until approximately 10:00 in the Community Room at City Hall, 200 Water Street. Teams can have between six and eight players; each player pays $10 to play. $100 and the coveted Brain Trophy will be awarded to the first place team. There will also be prize money for second & third place. Teams will play five rounds with ten general trivia questions per round. All money raised will go to the Lake Mills Main Street Program for Building Improvement Grants. Click here for Rules & Registration.
Tickets for the Knickerbocker Raffle will go on sale on January 20. They will be $5 for one or five for $20, prizes include $500, $250 and $100 shopping sprees in downtown Lake Mills. The winner will be drawn after the games in Commons Park are complete on Saturday afternoon, you do not have to be present to win. Tickets can be purchased at Sweet Lips Art & Gift Gallery, Dutch Designs, TT’s Timeout, Water House Foods and from Main Street Board members and Knickerbocker Committee members.
Ice carvers will invade downtown Lake Mills starting at 9 am on Saturday and will be working
on their carvings all day. Any one interested in sponsoring an ice sculpture can call the Main Street office at 920.648.2344, sponsorships are $150.
At 10 am the Knickerbocker King & Queen will be crowned at TT’s Timeout. Also at TT’s you can register for the Iceberg Open Golf Tournament that starts at 10:30.
The Ice Fisheree will begin at 6 am and continue until 3 pm. The Wrap Up Party will take place at Sportsman’s Pub at 4:00, prizes will be handed out and drawings for door prizes will take place.
Carp’s Landing Restaurant will host the second annual Fire & Ice Chili Cook-off from noon until 2 pm. Contestants will compete for cash prizes in three chili categories, red, white and green. Judging will be done by event goers who will pay $5 to sample each chili and rate each one on a point system. The chili with the most points at the end of the event will win. Registration is at Carp’s Landing, entry fee is $5. Download the form here. They will also have live music from 4:00 pm until close.
At 1:00 on Saturday afternoon kids may enter the Decorated Sled Parade, participants will parade around Commons Park downtown and prizes will be given in different categories. The Snow Ball eating contest, frozen fish toss and the IdiderDAD race are scheduled to start at 1:30 in the park.
Competitors in the Snow Ball eating contest will be required to eat their ice cream snow balls. Sponsors for the event are Water House Foods Café and Bakehouse and Timber Creek Pizza.
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 Fish Toss is sponsored by Carp’s Landing Restaurant & Bar – of course:)
The IdiderDAD race will harness dads to sleds, provided by The Main Street Program, with a kid of their choice on board. Registration for these events is free and can be done before the event starts. The race is sponsored by Bungalow Jo’s.
Start out the day on Saturday with a hot pancake breakfast at Trinity Lutheran Church, 346 W. Pine St. Food will be served from 8 to 11 am.
Gold sponsors for the event are Lakeland Cold Storage and Leader Printing; silver sponsors are Dutch Designs, Chapter Two and TT’s Timeout. Ice sculpture sponsors include The Wine Vineyard, Bartle’s Beach Cottage, Dutch Designs, Lakeland Cold Storage, TT’s Timeout, CV Hair Company, Lake Mills Golf Course, Water House Foods Café and Bakehouse and Anderson Group, S.C.. The Fisheree is sponsored by Chapter 2, Inc., Topel’s Towing & Repair, Watson Ace Hardware, and The Party Mart
History of the Knickerbocker Ice Company
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 was 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 by 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 once 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.
