I recently had wondered about its whereabouts, so the finding came as a most pleasant surprise. I wrote about this old thermos it's actually a Stanley brand, but the AP Stylebook I keep on my desk indicates "thermos" is an acceptable reference more than 20 years ago; it was old then.
If memory serves me correctly, it's at least 40 years old. Dented and rusting, much of its green finish long gone, the thermos never failed to keep coffee warm, even on the coldest winter days. Despite its years of abuse and disuse, I'd wager that hasn't changed. Upon finding it again recently, I wiped off the dust and gave the innards a good cleaning. The discovery of the old thermos left me feeling a bit nostalgic, so I decided to dig the first portable ice fishing house I ever owned out of storage last weekend.
Like the thermos, the 4x6-foot canvas shelter with a wooden floor that folds up like a suitcase has seen better days. But it's completely functional, the canvas still sturdy as ever and the wooden floor solid though I've had to repair it a couple of times over the years. Like the thermos, it's also pushing 40 years old.
Years ago, when I was much more gung-ho about ice fishing than I am today, I kept the old fish house in the folded-down backseat of my Ford Escort hatchback most of the winter. A small, but dependable rig that once started on a morning when the air temperature was 47 below zero without being plugged in the block heater cord was broken , the Escort made many trips onto the plowed ice roads of Lake of the Woods during the years I owned it.
Such was the case that minusF morning. No way did I expect the car to start, but since it did, I figured we might as well go fishing. That day on Lake of the Woods remains one of the single best days of ice fishing I've ever had, even though the daytime high didn't reach zero. I upgraded to a 4x4 Ford Ranger in the spring of , but the old fish house still stayed in the back of the truck most of the winter.
