Outdoor Refrigeration

On the grounds of Governor Dodge State Park, just north of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, sits an outdoor refrigerator.

It's not trash, and it's not an old Kenmore that last stood inside a house 50 years ago.

No, the refrigerator is inside that open doorway and cement wall built into a hillside.

Alex Stephens settled this land and created the fridge to keep milk and food cool.

It's fed by a natural spring of cold water and even with an open door it would keep several six packs of Mt. Dew cold today.

Through five generations the Stephens family farmed this land, they installed pipes to transport the water to storage tanks for the home and barn.  It was an innovative solution to a problem that otherwise wouldn't have been solved until the 1920s, some 70 years later, when electricity made its way into the countryside.

It seems to me that looking back through time at ways folks solved their problems is a good history lesson.  We take the ability to keep cold things cold for granted these days. 

Between chemical packs that create freezer quality temperatures, we have mini-fridges in our offices and dorm rooms and those old Kenmores sitting in the garage holding our beer and soft drinks.

The Stephens model was green long before it's time, too.  No outside power source required to draw the water or keep the cow's milk cold so it would be safe to drink.

When we stop to think about it, we realize history didn't begin when we did... but it's always a good idea to absorb those lessons in person.