Back in November, 1932, Modern Mechanix magazine ran this hopeful article, "Money Making Ideas That Whipped the Depression." The colorful prose depicts a set of weird, fun, and ingenious schemes to make ends meet during the Great Depression.
Now in many old houses and stores there are built-in refrigerators which waste ice like a toad wastes hops. The ice box with which we are concerned was brought to attention through complaints that it consumed about 75 lbs. of ice per day in hot weather.
As the photo above shows, this ice box was framed, boarded up and lined with tongue and groove material. The front of the box was fitted with four hollow doors– which was two too many. Four of the six surfaces of the box were exposed to voluminous air currents, and had the protection of no insulating medium whatever. Is it any wonder the box had an insatiable thirst for ice?
Now in the cure which was effected you will find some ideas on how to proceed on your own jobs. Every bit of the inside of the box was lined with Insulite. The inside surfaces of the front doors were covered as well as the inner surface of the icing door at the left end. The pieces of the insulite were cut for their respective surfaces to fit so snugly that they were self-supporting. Shingle nails, indented 1/16″, will hold the sheets firm.
