Believe it or not, there was a time when rivers like the Ohio and the Wabash froze solid – so solid that boats couldn’t move at all. It’s hard to picture that now, especially if you’ve ever stood along the riverfront in Evansville and watched barges roll by. But in the early 1900s, those waterways actually froze over multiple times.
And when that happened, people didn’t stay inside scrolling on their phones – because, obviously, that wasn’t an option. Instead, they bundled up, grabbed friends, family, and sometimes even the dog, and headed straight out onto the ice. Some folks were trying to help free stuck boats. Others were just making the most of it, turning a frozen river into a community gathering spot.
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