The ice plant in Booneville, Arkansas

One of my vivid memories of childhood is of trips to the ice plant in Booneville, Arkansas. We made a lot of homemade ice cream, and that was our sourc of ice. Back in those days, there was not bagged ice available at every convenience store, so we had to go to the ice plant and buy it. It was fascinating. The man would get his large tongs and drag out a big lock of ice, perhaps six feet long and three feet square – something about that size. Then, he would get the ice pick and chip along the dividing line built into the block to get the portion to put into the chopper. It would chip the ice, making a wonderful noise.


The ice plant had a wonderful, icy smell. It is one of those places that is associated in memory with scents.