The Dorchester Beacon, October 26, 1907
Dorchester Ice Company
A notable concern which serves Dorchester people well and faithfully
In all of the public outcry against the big ice monopolies which has been heard within recent years, and often too well founded, no word of adverse criticism is ever heard against the methods of the Dorchester Ice company, from which the residents of this district receive their supply of that necessary commodity. This company was organized many years ago, its interests being acquired by N. Fairfield and M. L. Abbott in 1897, as successors to the firm of Abbott Brothers. The concern’s plant is situated at No. 1203 Dorchester avenue and is 100 by 300 feet in dimensions, with a stable having a rapacity of fifty head of: horses, wagon sheds and yards. The company keeps no less than twenty-four double teams in daily service in the summer months and these wagons, all painted yellow, are familiar sights on the streets here and are easily recognizable from a long distance. A large force of men, aggregating sixty, is given employmet. The patronage of the company is drawn from Dorchester, a part of Roxbury and a portion of South Boston. Its storage plant is located on the shores of Silver Lake, Plympton, this state, nd number five houses, with a total capacity for storing 30,000 tons of ice. If it happens that this great quantity becomes exhausted through the unusual demands of a very hot season, the concern secures its extra supply from other sources. The firm harvests its own product is able to give to its patrons an article of sinular purity and healthfulness, for which it is justly famed throughout the territory hereabouts.
Mr. Fairfield, the senior member of the firm, was born in York County, Me., a good place to hail from , by the way. He has made his home in Chelsea since 1877. He saw service in the Civil War and ia member of Theodore Winthrop Post, No. 35, Grand Army of the Republic. He is also affiliated with the Masonic order. Like his associate in business, Mr. Abbott came from York County, Maine, where he was educated and reared. He has been a resident of Dorchester for many years and is looked upon as one of the district’s most influential citizens. Both member of the firm are now in middle ife and both are active and devote their entire time to the interest of their business, the proper conduct of which means health and comfort to countless thousands. The supplying of ice to a vast number of people is a serious and responsible undertaking and one which is fraught with many vexations, and to have done it well is a cause for thankfulness and pride. This is what the Dorchester Ice Company tries to do.