A 45-foot icicle in Illinois is making residents smile. Katherine Ragel from St. Elmo, Illinois decided to honor her late husband by building a 45-foot icicle inspired by the movie Frozen in front on their home with the help of her son, Garrick Moreland.
A 45-foot icicle in the city of St. Elmo, in Fayette County, Illinois, has Frozen fans and non-fans, (the non-fans are those who are tired of the song “Let It Go”), smiling.
The woman behind the 45-foot icicle goes by the name of Katherine Ragel and was helped by her son, Garrick Moreland, who is a tree trimmer.
In an interview with The Effingham Daily News, Katherine Ragel, 56, explained that she came up with the idea for the 45-foot icicle in order to honor her late husband, Alan Ragel.
Alan Ragel, who died in 2012, was passionate about ice sculptures and dreamed of building a giant one. Mr Ragel, who had a habit of building smaller icicles along the driveway, was able to build a 30-foot icicle about five years ago from a high branch.
Katherine Ragel had the following to say about her husband:
“We’re still carrying this on the best we can.Alan always liked to do something unique. So he’d love all the traffic we’re getting. I’m sure he’s looking down and smiling on it.”
So, how did the pair accomplish the much talked about 45-foot icicle in front of their home? Lots of patience, warm clothes, a hose, and a man who is not afraid of height or freezing temperatures.
For eight long days, the mother and son duo, who were determined to recreate the Disney Frozen‘s ice kingdom, braved freezing cold with a hose in hand.
Garrick Moreland had to climb on the tree every day in minus degree weather, attached the hose, and turned on the water. Moreland kept the water running to keep the hose from freezing.
The structure kept growing and growing and over a week later they had a 45-foot icicle. The widow explained:
“You’ve got a one shot deal. Everything has to align just right for it to work.”
She went on to add that they built a Plexiglas ceiling for Elsa, held up by four posts and they have to manually remove some of the ice on a daily basis. Ragel told the publication:
“It was constant work each day trying to keep her cleared off.”
Ragel’s daughter suggested that they add the song “Let It Go” to the scene and Katherine is starting to regret that decision. Mrs Ragel, who fears that her 45-foot-tall icicle will melt soon as warmer weather hits, took to Facebook where she shared numerous pictures and wrote:
“Hopefully weather lets it stay a while.I enjoy seeing little kids faces plastered against the windows as they drive by.”
Katherine Ragel is also afraid that her 45-foot icicle might cause an accident, because motorists are stopping their cars in the middle of the road to admire the splendor.
Illinois family creates 45-foot icicle in their front yard bringing joy to an entire community. What say you?
I loved the movie ‘Frozen’ and I never grew tired of the song ‘Let it Go’ from it. An icicle THIS big should stick around until early March. It’s absolutely incredible.
This amount of Ice and the Weight/height are very Dangerous to anyone Close to it. Should it Collapse for any reason, It would be FATAL to anyone underneath it. Signs should be Posted and an Area cleared for this Possibility.