Fraters Libertas

A Bargain At Any Price

In contrast to Nick Coleman’s pathetic mewling and quibbling, David Hawley of the Pioneer Press examines the reasons why we build Ice Palaces, despite the fact there are still poor people in the world. I wasn't planning on seeing the Palace myself, but this article changes everything with its capturing the spirit of this grand St. Paul tradition. Excerpts:

"The ice castle legacy is indicative of our climate and the tenacity of our people," [architect Bill] Rust said. "That's why it resonates with us so powerfully and people get involved so enthusiastically. It goes all the way back to the first ice palaces in the 1880s, when people in New York thought this was the frozen edge of the earth and we had to prove them wrong."

(So this was saying “We Like It Here” 100 years before they built the Metrodome and hung that ridiculous sign. Now that's Twin Cities tradition.)

"Clearly, the most magnificent ones have been built in St. Paul, including the 1888 palace, which I consider to be the most elaborate in the world," [historian Fred] Anders said.

"Hardly anybody can build ice palaces," [historian Bob Olson said], when asked to elaborate. "But we can — partly because of where we are and also because we've done it before. We have what it takes, and that says something about … us."

"A awful lot of this involves camaraderie with the guys," said [Tom] Chartrand, who lives in St. Paul and is a union tradesman for Xcel Energy. "It's all about pride at being able to do something like this."

“... the accomplishment and the awesome size of this is what makes it worthwhile."

an ice palace is magically impermanent, a glittering moment in time, and a thing of precarious creation involving extraordinary effort. See it now, or you may see it never.

Fred Anders on seeing the 1986 Ice Palace at Lake Phalen: "It was 30 below zero and people were waiting in line for two hours. And when they lit it up, it was like seeing fireworks go off in a building. It was just amazing."

"It's all in your heart, a fairy tale that comes true," said Keith Soderbeck, a St. Paul union carpenter who worked on the 1986 ice palace and is a site coordinator for the current project. "With the lights on, glistening through the ice, it makes it mysterious, the most beautiful thing," Soderbeck said. "It's hard to describe because there's nothing like it.

But personally, the draw for me is that I know the enjoyment and the community-building that occurs with ice palaces," Olsen added. "When I go down and look — and I go every night — I'm no longer looking at an ice palace. I'm looking at the sheer enjoyment of people. Everyone wants to be in the picture — and, really, they are."

"Not going to last? It's going to last for a long time," Anderson said emphatically. "It will last in memories, in photographs, on Web sites. It's really a very permanent thing."

Take that Nick Coleman! A unique local tradition that reminds us of our civic heritage and reminds us that our ancestors of 100 years ago weren’t so different in their joys and aspirations than we are today. A shared effort that unites and ennobles those who volunteer to create it. One that charms and delights all who come to see it, and will linger in their memories for decades to come.

For all of this a $5 admission fee sounds cheap to me. And to borrow the wisdom of encyclopedia salesmen everywhere - how can the poor afford not to come and see it?