Wandering writer warms to ice

Elli Morris never seems to stick around one place too long.

She has lived in 12 states and wandered through 50 countries. For the past four months, she has been living out of her blue Subaru as she travels the South.

And for that journey, she has another living situation to thank: the time she spent bunking down in her family's abandoned ice factory.

"There was just so much memorabilia there," says Morris. "I was just sitting on a treasure."

So Morris decided to write a book. "Cooling the South: The Block Ice Era 1875-1975," compiles photographs, anecdotes and historical information to tell the story of the ice business in the South, and its effect on the culture and economy. On Tuesday, Morris will appear at the Cameron Village library to talk about it.

When Morris moved into the family's old ice business in Jackson, Miss., she had no intention of writing a book. She likes warehouses, and it was just a place to stay until she found another place.

Once inside, the freelance photographer and writer became infatuated with ice, its tools and all stuff left behind in a business that closed in the late 1980s.

"Our office looks like a museum or a movie set," she says.

Morris felt that more could be written about the manufactured ice business and how it changed the South. Once ice came along, shrimp boat captains could stay on the water longer because they could keep their catches cold. Farmers could ship vegetables to the North and Midwest, where the growing seasons are shorter. Dairy farms could keep milk cold. The ice business in the South "jump-started the economy," she says.

During her travels while researching the book, Morris also learned more about another side of the ice business: the fun side.

People who work with ice tend to be funny people, Morris says, and good storytellers, too. And who doesn't like ice? When people buy ice, it tends to be for an upbeat occasion, maybe a party or camping or fishing trip.

Ice, she says, "just makes people happy."