Groth, Ernest Collection

SummaryThe Ernest Groth Collection contains one reel of amateur 16 mm. film. This film was shot in 1926 by H.M. Berndt and sponsored by Spring Brook Ice Service, located in Spring Brook, Connecticut. The film contains footage of the home office of the Spring Brook Ice Service, delivery men with their trucks, and documents the ice harvesting process. Footage depicts men using a large electric saw on the ice, hand saws, poles, picks, and boats in order to cut, float, and guide the ice pieces up a conveyor. The film then shows the process of moving the ice into the ice house and packing the ice for storage until summer. The film contains intertitles to guide the viewer through the process.

Biographical/Historical NotesDonor Ernest Groth participated in the ice industry beginning at age eight, when he would skip school to watch his uncle Herman Doure cutting the ice with his crew. When the Spring Brook Ice House burned in 1942, Groth contacted a man in town who had the film and had a copy made "for history's sake." He worked as General Manager for Southern New England Ice and Oil in Hartford, Connecticut, aiding in the transformation from the traditional ice harvesting industry to the modern packaged ice industry. He was inducted into the Packaged Ice Hall of Fame in 1985, listed as: 1985 Ernest H. Groth, Southern New England Ice and Oil. Hartford, CT (http://www.packagedice.com/halloffame.html). The International Packaged Ice Association (IPIA) Hall of Fame “honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the ice industry.” According to the Connecticut Historical Society Hartford City Directories, the Spring Brook Ice Company began in Hartford, Connecticut in 1876. The Company appeared in the Hartford City Directory, with various addresses, up until 1928. Several branches and locations could have grown from the origins during this time. According to the current Website, the Spring Brook Ice Service began in New Britain in 1918 and continues to serve the Greater New Britain, Connecticut, community as the Spring Brook Ice & Fuel Service. (http://www.springbrookiceandfuel.com/aboutus.nxg)

RepositoryNortheast Historic Film

AvailabilityThe Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and UseAuthorization to reuse and/or reproduce must be obtained from Northeast Historic Film. See http://www.oldfilm.org/research for more information.