Monday Memories: Recycled Christmas trees marked the ice road to South Bass Island in 1962

In the deep of winter, when Lake Erie ice reached a foot or more, islanders eked out temporary ice roads linking to other islands and the mainland. The way could be treacherous, pocketed by thin ice on either side that had to be marked by the first of the season to make the trip. In this 1962 Blade archive photo, Nate Ladd, left, and Lee Miller were the first ones to drive from South Bass Island to Port Clinton and back. Their car was loaded with cast-off Christmas trees, which they used to mark areas of thin ice. In 1940, the ice was thick enough to accommodate a steady steam of people to and from the islands, and even north to the Canadian shore. The ice bridge could be treacherous, though.