I particularly like the line that is bolded:
What causes this great housing increase? Bob houses! These portable “shanties,” as they are called by those in the know, are wheeled or pushed onto ice-covered bodies of water by die hard fisherman and their friends and followers each winter. No one knows for sure where bob houses got their name. There are various theories: they could be named for the bobsleds that some used to bring their shacks out onto the ponds, or because “bob” is an old fashioned term for short or small (as in bobtail or bobbed hair), or
because your shanty will be bobbing in the water if you leave it out on a lake too long.
From:
http://blog.verani.com/bob-houses-hampshire-tradition/