March 1943 Medborn Ice House Burns

1943 - Culver Citizen dated 24 March.

The above photo is the same one that appeared in an advertisement that was found in the 1922 Maxinkuckee yearbook but gives some details of the ice harvest.

Medbourn Ice House Burns
5,000 Loss
The last vestige of one booming business was destroyed by fire early Tuesday morning when the, Medbourn Ice House burned to the ground with a loss estimated at around 5,000.

The fire was discovered before 1:00 a.m., and it had such a head start that by the time the fire department arrived the entire structure was a mass of flames. A little over a half hour after the alarm sounded, the last wall of the large structure caved in. So rapidly did the all-wood building burn, fed by the dry hay and saw dust in the interior.

The building was built in 1908 and thoroughly repaired seven years ago. It had not been used as an ice house since 1939, when the business was discontinued.

The ice house contained about 107,000 feet of lumber and It had been planned by the owner Harry E. Medbourn, to tear is down in the future to utilize the lumber. About 20 tons of hay, some odd pieces of lumber, the machinery on the transmission and gallery that brought the ice up to the house and the runways were also destroyed. The loss was partially covered by insurance.

No definite cause for the start of the fire has been given.