Today in the 21st century, we're used to long shelf lives for perishable food items - vegetables, cheeses, milks, etc. We purchase them from refrigerated areas in a store, they go home, and are immediately put into personal refrigerators until they're needed. But this luxury hasn't always been available. How were these goods kept cold before the invention of modern refrigeration? Enter the Ice Man!

Dear readers, we are sorry for neglecting you!

Winter tends to be a busy time here in the CCHA office as we close out one year and prepare for the next. Throw in multiple holidays and a few COVID quarantine periods, and suddenly time moves very quickly. But fear not! The CCHA staff has been busy at work preparing for a really awesome, history-packed 2021 season, and we can't wait to share it with you.

We've also been busy cleaning and re-arranging the office and museum space, to allow for greater productivity and overall usefulness. We're counting down to the day we can open back up to the public safely and show off all our hard work! New additions to our permanent exhibit are in the works, as well as a great line-up of temporary exhibits. With any luck we'll be able to make some of them digital, so we can share with you sooner.

Our topic for today's post is brief and light-hearted--a reminder of warmer days to come (we're all very tired of winter already, and it's only January): A picnic!