Bit of History

In today's modern times it is hard to imagine life without a refrigerator. How did they keep their food from spoiling? How much of a difference did not have a refrigerator make on a family? Before refrigerators were present in homes to keep food cold ice boxes were used. What is an ice box? An ice box was a wooden box that was lined with zinc and other insulators to keep the inside of the box cool. The ice box was smaller than refrigerators and were less efficient as well. The ice box required ice on a constant basis. The ice box was delivered by the iceman. I remember reading about the icemen in the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn It seems the business of an iceman was very important and demandive at this time in history. The family would buy a big chunk of ice and normally the ice would last approximately 1 week kept inside of what is now reffered to as the freezer. The ice boxes of yesterday are the refrigerators of today. The actual furniture piece of the ice box sometimes have been turned into cupboards which decorate homes.