Renovation occasion

Jerry Kolve of Kolve’s Excavating and Septic in River Falls was in the process of renovating the exterior of the Ice Occasions building on the northwest corner of Main and Broadway streets in East Ellsworth last week. Kolve said Thursday the structure dates to 1922, based on an outdoor stone marker, which a prankster turned upside down. Building owner Steve Hinck said Friday the project basically amounts to repainting the outside in a different color scheme—blue and white. The site once housed Hines Transfer, a former trucking company operated by J.S. Hines, local resident Lester Hines’ father. A couple of years ago, the younger Hines remembered hauling the nearby Ellsworth Co-op Creamery’s butter by truck to Chicago with his dad when he was 12-years-old. Loading and unloading were done manually because no one had a fork lift. The transfer firm’s first truck was outfitted with a 3,000 gallon tank bought from the creamery and was used to haul that plant’s product after the elder Hines had earlier hauled livestock. On Thursday, Kolve headed up a ladder to take down a sign, which will be replaced, while getting help from Tony Most of Ellsworth. -- Photo by Bill Kirk