What happened to....

What happened to those convenient metal ice trays? In the 50s it was the only way to have ice cubes at the ready. No one I knew had an automatic ice maker or through-the-door ice dispenser.

The metal handle could be pulled up with a sound of cracking, loosening ice making removal easy. Stackable trays made storage in the freezer efficient. A plastic tub was often used to dump cubes in so that additional ice could be made.

One problem? No one ever filled up the trays, at least not until all the trays were empty and no more ice was available. Or the same person, like the youngest kid in the family, always had to fill up the trays, like it was the duty of every baby of the family to have this in their job description.

In the summer, cubes made from Kool-Aid were a delight. If you had sticks, you made frozen Popsicle treats then you took them outside to slurp on because they dripped like crazy and if there was a little breeze you had to stand just the right way so the spray didn't fly back on your clothes...not that you cared, but your mom did. Sometimes the stick came out but the Popsicle didn't. That usually happened when you didn't wait long enough for the water to solidify.

You can't do that with a side-by-side two-door refrigerator/freezer with an automatic ice maker and through-the-door ice and water service.

And that's what I think about it.