Snapshots of Winters Past

Snuggle up with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy these photos of winter from Portage County's past.

A crowd gathers to watch tobogganers at Iverson Park in Stevens Point. Photo taken by Walter Barnsdale, between 1900 and 1950. Photo from the PCHS collections.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal, taken on March 31, 1949. "Just like January! - Irving Gordon, Milwaukee, had the same trouble as a lot of Stevens Pointers this morning, as his car stalled in deep snow. Gordon is shown shoveling out the wheels in the 300 block of Center street."

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal, taken on March 31, 1949. "The bottom photograph is a view of the Main Street business district, taken at 8:00 a.m. Blinding snow forced the driver of the car to switch his lights on"

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal collection, taken in 1949. Students and their teacher pose in front of the Jefferson School.

Photo is from the Stevens Point Journal collection. Caption from 1/3/1949. Winter sport. Young people are pictured enjoying the skating at the rink behind the No. 1 fire station on North Second street. The rink is one of several in the city. Others are located at the stone quarry, the Lincoln, McKinley, and Jefferson schools, in the 1200 block of Portage Street and at Goerke park. A hockey rink is also maintained at Goerke Park. Note: Neither of these images was used in the Daily Journal, but a similar one from Goerke park was.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal collection. Caption from 12/30/1948. Mother Nature housecleans. A soft, pure white blanket of snow inches thick covered the area Tuesday night, giving many ordinary spots scenic beauty. This winter scene is of the Soo Line bridge at Whiting as it crosses the Plover river.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal collection. Photo taken on 1/3/1949. For the frying pan. John Stroik, Stevens Point, Route 2, is shown pulling in a good-sized bluegill at McDill pond. Recent days have brought ice fishermen in throngs, with fair to good catches reported. Warm clothing, especially on the feet, is the order of the day.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal collection. Caption from 3/31/1949 Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church takes on a mid-winter aspect in the top photo, as snow clings to bushes, steps and the building itself. The picture is of the west entrance of the church on Main street.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal collection, from 11/28/1949. Caption: sledding at Iverson Park.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal collection, taken between 1936 and 1944. No caption, but it depicts ice skaters on a rink behind the Lullabye Furniture Factory in Stevens Point.

Photo from the Stevens Point Journal collection. Caption from 2/1/1949. Cold work. Stevens Point’s ice harvest is on again. The City Ice and Fuel company is working on the Plover River, while these pictures show operations of the Olson Pure Ice company on the Wisconsin river. Workers in the picture at the right are moving ice cakes toward a conveyor belt in the foreground. Each of the chunks weighs 420 pounds. The site of this photo is on the west side of the Wisconsin, a short distance above the Consolidated dam. The Olson company plans to cut 10,500 tons this year, selling 7,500 tons of it to the Soo Line. The City Ice and Fuel company will cut 4,000 tons for sale to homes and businesses. Each concern is employing about 30 men. In the top left photo, Olson company employees move ice cakes of ice up a conveyor belt onto a waiting truck. Similar operations are being carried on by the City Ice and Fuel Company above McDill pond on the Plover. The lower left photo shows a power saw which makes the cold hard work a little easier. After a deep cut has been made in the ice, workers break cakes loose with bars.