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Last night I spent some time staring into the depths of my refrigerator, trying to decide what to make for dinner and guessing (and failing) at what exactly lies inside those tinfoil clad dishes that got shoved behind the milk and broccoli. As I opened and closed (and opened again) the fridge door a few things crossed my mind. Firstly, my father would certainly have let me have it for wasting electricity while scrutinizing the contents of my fridge over and over again. And secondly, how it is so easy to take our everyday household tools like the refrigerator for granted.

There was a time, not too long ago, when our food was kept cool and fresh in the ice box, rather than in the modern electric refrigerator. Did you know that Lake Simcoe was once considered one of the purest bodies of water in all of Canada? It's true. And because of its purity, ice from Lake Simcoe was highly prized. Our friends at the Innisfil Historical Society literally wrote the book on the ice industry, copies of which can be found at Innisfil Public Library's Local History Department.

In the days of the ice box, ice was harvested each winter, when the ice grew to be at least one foot thick. Harvesting started out with two men and some saws, but as time marched on, an entire industry sprouted around harvesting ice form Lake Simcoe.

Innisfil's Belle Ewart became an ideal location - for ease of access to the waterway, access to a farming population looking to make some money during the dull winters, and access to transportation via the railway. The Belle Ewart Ice Company soon had a thriving business, cutting, harvesting and shipping ice.

The Innisfil Historical Society's Collection is full of great images of this once booming business that made Innisfil and Lake Simcoe its home. You can even check out an interview we did with Herb Dietrich all about his friend, Bill Lamb, the Ice Man.

All February long we will be looking at Innisfil's icy industries, including the ice harvesting and ice fishing. As always, if you have stories to share, we'd love to hear them. And just in case you were wondering.... I ordered take away for dinner!