To the editor:

As usual this year, there is a long list of people and businesses to thank for assisting with the Ice Palace build.

First, thank you to Bill Madden of Madden’s Transfer and Storage for providing a storage container to be used as our new tool container. Marty Rowley, Marilyn Corson and Joe Plumb helped get the container ready to hold all the tools. Thanks to the village Department of Public Works crew for placing the container on a trailer for easy transport, and also for packing down and leveling the snow on the site, which made construction easier. They also provided sawdust to keep the palace site safe for visitors.

Many local businesses again made donations of equipment and other materials we use. They are as follows: Curtis Lumber for the materials used in the outfitting of the new tool trailer; the Belvedere for providing a meeting place and a meal to design the palace; Hyde Fuel for fueling our equipment; Sturdy Supply for providing chainsaws and other supplies; Taylor Rental for equipment and a lift; Coakley Home and Hardware for a monetary donation that was used for equipment and supplies; Douglas C. Cochran for his excavator and his time using it to lift the ice from the lake; Paul Smith’s College for the use of their log loader, and operator Tom Bartiss; Mark Weller and Bill Madden for using their equipment to clear the ice prior to the build, and the crew of shovelers who helped clear the ice; Bill Madden and John Pietras for their tractors; John Pietras, who also built the bus stop, and Olie Burgess for the wooden roof materials for the bus stop; Kim Duso for the use of his family saw; Luck Brothers for the use of their crane and operator Dan Trim. Dan also invented an “Ice Vice” for lifting the ice blocks. Thanks to Bobcat of Plattsburgh and Hulbert’s Tri-Lake Supply and operator Darren Dalton. Thanks to Pat Carnell for being our daily email communicator and maintaining the list of volunteers. Thanks to the Women’s Civic Chamber for delicious food each morning. Thanks to St. Joe’s for the coffee and cocoa, Moody Tree Farm for the trees and a couple of loads of snow when it was needed, Little Italy for the pizzas, the Downhill Grill for snacks after each day’s building, and, of course, the Lakeview Deli for the bowl and a roll lunch each day for the builders, and to everyone else who made food appear. Thanks to all the first-time builders — I hope they had fun and come back.

I can’t stress how much I appreciate the hard work and dedication of the volunteers who each year come out into the cold and spend hours and days building the centerpiece of the Winter Carnival. I thank you all.

Dean Baker

Ice Palace chairman

Saranac Lake