Some men fight cabin fever through woodworking. Sam Hall decided to build an igloo.
“I like to work with my hands,” the Audubon resident said. “The winter months can get kinda long. I needed a project. I’ve always wanted to build an igloo.”
He began freezing water in 6-qt. plastic shoe boxes, adding food coloring to some and leaving the others clear. It took 24 to 36 hours for the blocks to freeze completely. He refilled each box after he emptied it, eventually producing about 300 ice blocks. Construction began during the cold snap between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Block by block, the structure came together. Hall, a North Dakota native, made “mortar” out of snow and water and packed it between the blocks. “I spent a couple of hours each night on it,” he said. “One night about 11 o’clock, a guy who was driving by rolled down his car window and asked what I was doing out in the dark on such a cold night.”
By day, the igloo looks like a big gumdrop, straight out of a Candyland game. Hall and his wife, Grace, light it at night, when it takes on an ethereal glow. People driving by often slow down for a look.
Hall is a musician; his “day job” is at Parkway Pizza. He said it took about 30 hours to complete the igloo, and added that its construction was a great way to forget about the world and its troubles.
Hall said he wanted to keep the igloo up for a while. It will take some work. A couple of days in the high 30s faded some of the color and melted the mortar.
He was experimenting with colored water in a spray bottle when the Northeaster caught up with him.
As the weather seesaws from sub-zero to above freezing, you may see him out making repairs.
Below: Sam Hall estimates he spent 30 hours in sub-zero weather building this colorful igloo at 2518 Arthur St. NE. He hopes to keep it up through February, if Mother Nature cooperates. (Photo by Cynthia Sowden)
