Terrible ice storm in 1937

In the mid-30s, ice became very hazardous and especially costly to those living in the rural communities. Unbelievable amounts of ice covered a large portion of our country, including Daviess County. Newspapers reported this prolonged ground covering was the most strenuous time on livestock in years.

On the night of Jan. 6, 1937, a round sleet began to fall, followed by a layer of freezing rain. It laid on the ground for about five weeks. The only way a person could walk was to put something on his shoes.

One man accommodated by making cleats out of mowing machine sickle blades as footwear. Farmers had to chop ice in order to get their horses out of their barns. Some were afraid to lead them outside because the animals might fall and injure themselves. One farmer went to the haystack of timothy hay and used a rope to make a hay bundle and drag it to the barn for the animals.

Watering the livestock required creative ways to cope with it. A few of the tactics were 1) carrying water to the livestock as they were unable to get the animals to the watering tanks; 2) taking manure out of the barns and making paths for the animals; 3) putting gunnysacks on the horses’ feet and then chopping a path for them.

A farmer near Gilman City lost 14 heard of cattle. Nine of them smothered to death under a haystack while the other five fell on the ice and froze to death.

Where the ground was hilly and rolling, the animals started to slip and couldn’t stop until they reached the bottom. Many cattle lost their lives in this manner, some breaking legs while others were so badly injured they had to be killed.