Schuyler Larrabee wrote:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, how did they break it into the various grades?

The men on the deck were typically in two-man teams, one team for each end of the car. One was called the splitter, and he divided the block usually into four parts, and slid them to the man at the car, who further broke up the ice chunks as needed, right at the hatch. This is visible in many photographs (a number of such are in the PFE book) and in a terrific movie made by UP about perishable service. It's title, perhaps one we wouldn't choose today, is "Fruits from the West."

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
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