Ice Man's Weather

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Hundreds of bags of crisp, clean ice line the newly constructed cold locker at Du Quoin Ice Co. The inventory is being grown in preparation for the upcoming Du Quoin State Fair, whose concessionaires and vendors will go through several thousand bags before the end of the 10-day run.

The nippy 12-18 degrees inside feels good even in short sleeves compared to the 102 degrees you just came from outside the Du Quoin Ice Co. at 317 North Hickory Street in Du Quoin.

Previous owner Don Barrett would call this "an ice man's weather."

For Marion Setzekorn, who has owned the company since about 1989, the huge locker stacked halfway up the walls all around with ice is testament to the confidence has customers have in him and his staff.

"We're producing about 10 tons of ice a day," said Setzekorn, who lives about three miles south of Ashley and makes the commute regularly to help other family members who have been brought into the business. "We can make up to 15 tons a day if we need to," he said.

But, he admits that his community operation pales by some of the commercial metropolitan ice companies which produce thousands of tons of ice a day. But, that's okay, staying loyal to the customers who have stayed loyal to him is all-important.

It wasn't always that way.

After the Barretts grew Du Quoin Ice Co. into a great business in the early 1980s, the next owner didn't seem to have the same commitment.

It all came back with Setzekorn's purchase of the company. He now serves customers from river-to-river and 60 miles north and south.

"We are running four routes all the time," he says.

The ice is fresh and clean. The packaging looks smart. And, you don't have to beat the bags with a ball bat to get the ice into an Igloo cooler.

You keep the lockers too warm and the ice tends to freeze together. You keep it too cold and you get freezer burn just like you get in the freezer at your house.

You want a bag where you can feel the ice moving around in your hands.

Expansion of the Du Quoin Ice Co. was a smart move.

The exterior of the building is new and fresh. Setzekorn has quadrupled the production capacity. Insulated floors, walls and ceilings keep the ice at a constant temperature of between 12 and 18 degrees.

The electric bills are still high because of all the cooling, but he can tell the difference in his costs because of his changes.

One thing he hasn't changed is the coin-operated ice bag dispenser on the front of the Du Quoin Ice Co. It a fixture of the building and from the inside you can watch the automated conveyor carry the ice up to the drop box as customers line up outside to buy it.

Setzekorn admits that his has never been a charmed life, but certainly a blessed life.

Several years ago a large Mount Vernon ice company went one-on-one with Du Quoin Ice Co. for state contracts and other events. When that company was sold and began paying less attention to this area, Du Quoin Ice Co. began to grow again. "I got a call one day from the guy who had sold all the ice for the big Rend Lake bass tournament. The tournament was the next day and he said he couldn't do it anymore. We took it over and now we even have a sign over there," he said.

Setzekorn and Barrett have continued a world class friendship all this time, as well. "I have called Don several times to help me," Setzekorn said. "And, I always will unless I just have to be somewhere," Barrett told the newspaper Tuesday afternoon. He thinks the world of his friend.

Continuing to grow his business one bag at a time is fine with Setzekorn. He's got a hometown ethic and while he worried at the outset about investing in the expansion, it has all worked out fine.

It always does for people who care.