Ah, just another winter day in Burk's Falls. The buildings and the streets are covered in a blanket of snow. What could be nicer? Burk's Falls did not have regular snow removal until the 1960s. How much snow could fall during the winter?
Somewhere behind the snow bank is the Burk's Falls Post Office. Its hard to get a sense of scale and perspective from this photo. However, the post office is a two story building and the snow banks seem to be approaching the height of the building.
Here's a picture of the Burk's Falls Post Office in the summer. To get an idea of scale look for the statue in the previous picture.
An image with some perspective! This is a shop owner clearing a path so that his customers can actually get into his store. This would have to be done on a daily basis from first snow until the spring thaw.
Main Street Burk's Falls in the winter...without huge drifts. It wasn't doom and gloom all winter long. The beginning of the winter or a winter with not much snow. Oh, wait here comes another storm.
A winter in Burk's Falls can change over night before snow removal became practically a right rather than a privilege. When the snow fell it was there. But all the cold weather didn't have to be a bad thing. Some businesses could profit from all the cold weather and ice.
Before the refrigerator could keep meat and other perishables fresh for long periods of time the ice box needed to be fed ice on a regular basis. The ice man would come now and then with ice to make sure your expensive fruits and vegetables kept fresh. The ice they would use would be collected during the winter. Depending on the size of the operation and the winter it was possible to gather enough ice for all their customers through the year.
