Allen Wilder from the Brookfield Historical Society will be speaking at the Sullivan Museum at Norwich University on Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m.

Allen will be talking about "The Harvesting of Ice."

Mr. Wilder was born in Rutland and graduated from Norwich in 1956, then traveled the world for the next 21 years.

His last assignment was as the advisor to the Vermont National Guard and in the greater Brookfield area he is known as "Mr. Ice Harvester."

He has been assisting the town of Brookfield revive the spirit of ice harvesting with a celebration every last Saturday of January. Using traditional tools and techniques, a block of ice is harvested the old fashioned way on Sunset Lake.

Ice harvesting was a major business in the town of Brookfield during 1850-1930, and ice was shipped to Randolph for milk trains bound for Boston. A local tradition claimed Brookfield ice was so clear that one could read the Boston Globe through a 16 inch piece.

This public program is in conjunction with the Sullivan Museum's two current exhibits on ice: "Hooked on Hockey: Milestones of Norwich Hockey 1909-2009" and "Operation Deep Freeze: Survival in the South Pole."

The program is free and open to the public.

For more information call the Sullivan Museum and History Center at 485-2448 or 2379. Norwich University, on Route 12, is located off Exit 5 of I-89.