January 2023

LIBRARY NEWS

Winter Reads
for Adults

January & February 2023

Warm up with a good book this winter. Participate in our adult winter reading program in January and February and win prizes.

To take part, read or listen to a book and submit an entry. With your first entry, choose a participation prize while supplies last. Entries will be placed in a drawing in February. The more entries you submit, the better your chances of winning!

Submit an Entry

Trustee Vacancy

Applications due on January 30 at Noon

Make a difference in our community! Apply to be a Stillwater Public Library Board Trustee and help govern the library, review policies, set goals, and advocate for library services. Trustees must be residents of Stillwater.

The application deadline is 12:00 Noon on Monday, January 30, 2023.

Apply Today

In the Gallery

January & February 2023

The Nature in Art and Imagined Vignettes of artist Beth Marcus will be featured in the library's gallery beginning January 8 through February. Meet Beth at an artist reception on Thursday, January 19 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM.

Mini Art Show

January 2023

We're accepting teen submissions (ages 11-19) for a January Mini Art Show in the teen area. Let your creativity soar and keep your work smaller than five inches by five inches. All mediums are welcome.

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

Ice Harvesting on Lake St. Croix
Circa 1920

Before the days of indoor refrigeration, people relied on the ice man to fill their ice boxes and keep their perishables cool. Where did all this ice come from? Harvested from the St. Croix River and other local lakes of course!

Ice was big business in Stillwater with ice harvested both from Lake St. Croix and Lily Lake. The ice supplied not only Stillwater residents but most of St. Paul as well, and one company reportedly held a line on supplying southern states. The ice harvesters cut the ice by hand with saws, and the blocks were then hauled by horses to shore where they would be stored in ice houses. The ice in the ice houses was covered with sawdust (from the many local mills), which insulated it enough that it would last through the summer.

Read more on our St. Croix Collection page, including an excerpt from a 1977 interview with long-time city resident Al Kroon who relayed his memories of old-time Stillwater (circa 1900), the ice houses, and the huge slabs of ice transported by horses.

Learn More