On Saturday, February 3, thirty of Will’s friends arrived at the Steger Homestead for the annual “Ice Ball.” Temperatures never climbed above eighteen degrees Fahrenheit below zero (-28°C) and the wind blew constantly.

Using old metal saws, chisels, ice tongs, and ropes, the group cut blocks of ice from the lake, loaded the ice onto a horse-drawn sleigh and packed the ice into the ice house. The ice will keep the vegetables in the Homestead’s root cellar fresh all year long. Because it is so deep underground, cut into the hillside and piled all around with enormous boulders, the root cellar remains at a fairly constant temperature – just above freezing – despite the hot summer days and frigid winter nights. The Homestead has no electric refrigerator, which is one way we reduce our energy consumption. Since there is no central heating anywhere at the Homestead, the root cellar makes a great place to store anything that needs to be kept at a constant, above-freezing temperature...including wood stain and glue from the wood shop!

After the ice was cut and packed, an artist from Ely arranged the spare pieces of ice into a beautiful sculpture in the middle of the frozen lake. The ice that is hauled away for the ice house must be very solid, clear, and uniform. The ice trimmings from above this “pure” ice have different levels of density and clearness. When the artist put lights and candles into the sculpture after the sun went down, it made a spectacular sight, especially from the sauna deck.

The hard physical labor, the cold air and the teamwork invigorated everyone. When the work was over, the team shared a meal inside the lodge – a potluck of dishes brought by many weekend visitors to the Homestead. Coming together as a community to accomplish a task and celebrating with a good meal afterward was a fun and rewarding experience.