In Brookline Village, the icemen stayeth

In the early 20th century, well before the advent of refrigerators, there were ice companies everywhere. In those days, ice was cut from lakes and ponds, stored in woodsheds with a covering of sawdust or salt hay, and delivered to homes and businesses. Over the years, refrigeration cut deeply into the ice business, leaving only a few major ice dealers in this state. The survivors are mostly family-owned enterprises, and in the Boston area, only one remains: Brookline Ice Co., says Alice Marie Signore, the company's treasurer and spokeswoman. Though the company has adapted over the decades, branching into ice sculpture, it remains a family operation.

Alice's husband, Mario, 61, and his father, Gus, 83, are the owners. "During the peak season, Gus is still out there, delivering ice," she said. A hopeful sign for the company's future, she added, is that a daughter in her 30s, Jennifer Signore Venis of Newton, is now involved in the business.

The firm was incorporated in 1926 and run for many years by Gus's father, Marianno, who emigrated from Italy around 1912.

Today, Brookline Ice, which has 35 employees, continues to be profitable, Signore said, with annual revenues of about $4 million.

Rising costs of electricity and fuel are worrisome, says Signore, "but when temperatures are also rising, as they are now, sales soar."