‘ICE AGE’ REVISITED — Videographer Frank Grant has created a DVD, combining a radio interview with vintage footage, dating back to 1956, depicting ice harvesting on the Presque Isle Stream performed by employees of the Presque Isle Ice Company. Sale of the video will benefit the Presque Isle Historical Society.
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — One man’s trash has proven to be another man’s treasure, with the discovery of vintage film footage of Presque Isle’s ‘ice age.’
“When I bought my home in 1994, there were a few items left in the basement. While cleaning, I discovered two reels of 16 mm film,” said Frank Grant, owner of Grant Visuals, The Northern Maine Video & Multi-Media Production Company, of Presque Isle.
Grant said he was intrigued by the find, which was reported to be in exceptionally good shape.
“When I viewed it, I discovered it was color footage depicting ice harvesting on the Presque Isle Stream, circa 1956,” said Grant.
Joe Gagnon, the former owner of the home, also owned the Presque Isle Ice Company and had filmed crews at work one year, Grant said.
Grant began looking for more information on the material he found. And as luck would have it, he found his answer with a former next-door neighbor.
“Dick Smith and his wife, Opal, used to live next door. Opal was Joe’s daughter, so I asked Dick what about the film. Dick explained it was about Joe’s business. He came over and we watched the footage and he helped by giving me some names for folks in the film,” said Grant.
When Smith visited, he brought with him an audio cassette of an interview between Gagnon and Dewey Dewitt, dating back to the mid-1950s, taped for WAGM radio.
“The interview was about a half hour long and covers everything in the film,” Grant explained.
Having both visual and audio material to work with, Grant came up with the idea of combining the two into a mini documentary on the region’s ‘ice age.’
“With the help of Voscar and Dick Graves, we were able to identify a few more individuals in the video. I was able to put captions with some of the shots, filling in some of the information not included in the interview,” said Grant.
Grant said the treasure didn’t stop with just the ice-cutting footage found in the basement. Other clips were also discovered with historical value.
“When I bought the house, I found several 1940s’ vintage films — World War II, Civil Defense. Some of the material Andy Gile’s used for his documentary on Tinian,” said Grant. “It was really something. It was like finding a treasure. While the World War II stuff was interesting, the real treasure was finding this ice-cutting footage. This is something people should see. It’s important to get this out there for others to view and learn.”
Grant said Gagnon’s business was significant not just to the local economy — providing ice to businesses, enabling storage of goods and produce at a time when refrigeration systems weren’t readily available — but also benefited businesses beyond Aroostook County, including the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, which used the ice for its boxcars, allowing the railroad to transport goods great distances without spoilage.
“This footage highlights the significance of technology and refrigeration — things that didn’t exist in the 1950s. People had to use ice boxes to store food,” said Grant. “Gagnon had storage facilities in Washburn and Caribou and used the rail line to ship ice to those facilities, where it was stored until it was needed.”
“This isn’t a typical documentary. It’s mostly a visual journey of the ice-cutting process,” said Grant. “I think even young people would be interested to see what hard work really took place back then.”
In an effort to help preserve elements of the area’s history, Grant has teamed up with the Presque Isle Historical Society to sell the video, with part of the proceeds going to benefit the Society.
“The DVD will be for sale for $19.95 at the Historical Society booth at the fair, on Wednesday and Thursday. It can also be purchased at Dick Graves’ office on Main St., as well as at Merchants on the Corner on Main St.,” said Grant. “For more information, folks can visit www.pihistory.org or www.grantvisuals.com, or they can call me at 764-0366.”
Grant said he’s enjoyed working on this project with Society members.
“It’s been really exciting for me to have this opportunity to work with the Historical Society. There’s very little information available on ice harvesting. This was one of the biggest businesses of its kind, at the time, in the Northeast. From an historic and an education perspective, this is an amazing find — one that can now be shared for generations to come.”
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
TRUCKS similar to this 1950s-version scale model were used to transport ice once it was harvested from the Presque Isle Stream.
