Sample This

By Robert Sample

Do you remember the old wooden ice box? Many people still call their refrigerator an "ice box." The one was in the picture was made in the 1920s and came from Pennsylvania.

The drainage for the ice box was a pan under the drain pipe. You knew when to empty it, because it would overflow and the floor would get wet.

Some folks drilled a hole in the floor under the icebox and put a funnel in it to let the water run under the house.

The picture with the numbers on it was a card you put in your front window to tell the iceman how much ice you needed. You placed it to show whether you needed 25, 50, 75 or a hundred pounds of ice. He would bring the ice in and put it in your icebox. You would need more ice every three or four days.

It was frost-free and didn't need electricity. It kept your milk and eggs cool.

My wife bought this icebox for me two months ago, because I have wanted one for quite some time. She bought it for $75.00.

I asked her where we were going to put it. She said, "Don't worry about the mule; just load the wagon."

So, I did. We adjusted a few things and it fit just perfectly in the corner. She now uses it for storage of her old cookbooks, and a very large ivy sets on top of it.

The painting shows the scene of an old windmill and Texas Bluebonnets. It was done by Gloria.

Carman Robert Sample and his wife Gloria operate "The Colony," a bed and breakfast located in the Historic Stockyards District of Fort Worth.