The Ice Man: 1939

The ice man was a big strong guy who made deliveries to women during the day while the husbands were at work - as a result, he was the subject of many jokes and rumors. In song lyrics of the day the words "ice man" stood for a lothario. The best example that I know of is the song "Any Ice To-Day, Lady" as performed by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians on the Victor label in 1926. They couldn't be very explicit in those days, so you have to read between the lines:

Any ice to-day, lady?
It's nice to-day, lady.
How about a piece of ice to-day?
Oh, it's only a quarter,
You know that you oughter,
Hurry up before it melts away!
Yes, ma'am! Yes, ma'am!
Not on your linoleum.
No, ma'am! No, ma'am!
Giddyap, Napoleon.
Your poppa's a nice man,
And so's your old ice man,
Oh, lady be good to me!

Any ice to-day, lady?
It's nice to-day, lady.
How about a piece of ice to-day?
Tell me why you don't order,
Some Eskimo water.
Though your credit's good I wish you'd pay.
Yes, ma'am! Yes, ma'am!
I'll give you a premium.
No, ma'am! No, ma'am!
Not a red geranium.
I feel so silly,
I'll hand you a lily.
Oh, lady be good to me!

(To make things a little clearer: the next-to-last line is sung by the woman of the house, not by the ice man himself.)

Apparently to be an ice man one also needs cool socks!

What was the twine used for?

[I think they'd tie it around the ice block as a kind of handle for carrying. - Dave]

"Every man has his woman, but the ice man has his pick!"

[That's good. Took me a second to get it. - Dave]

The piece of paper tacked to the wall says "(something) only." What is that first word?

[Employees Only. And the ice pick says SAVE WITH ICE. - Dave]