How many in Michigan remember greeting the milkman? Ours had orange juice, butter and even chocolate milk. I remember one winter morning in the late 1960s, my mom told me to go get the glass bottles of milk from the front porch.
The cream in the milk used to settle to the top, and my older brothers and sisters used to fight over it. It sometimes would even pop the lid off in the winter months. The reason for the cream settling at the top is because the milk wasn’t homogenized decades ago. Because milk was so perishable, delivering it daily was the safest and most cost-effective way to get milk to customers. The glass bottles, which were sealed with a waxed foil cap, were then picked up by the milkman, cleaned and reused.
Eventually, it became easier and less expensive to buy milk at the stores, and the processes developed extended the milk’s shelf life, and the milkman faded into the past.
I would love to taste this milk from the old days with the pure cream at the top. I’d add it to my favorite bowl of cereal, and I’m sure it would make for some very creamy mash potatoes, too. Oh, the good ole days!
By Kenny Kamerer
Kenny is a local truck driver who loves nature and history. He has his own Facebook nature group called Michiana Nature Lovers to share wildlife and all kinds of nature photos.
Thanks Kenny! Loved this article! Did you know there’s a dairy in Nashville MI named Mooville where you can purchase Creamline milk (has the real cream still at the top!!)…many stores in the area (Charlotte, Vermontville, and Nashville) also carry their products…amazing fresh homemade ice cream, cheeses, yogurt, etc., in addition to many varieties of milk! Our children took farm tours there years ago, and we were able to watch them milking and producing the dairy products! A local gem…thanks again for the wonderful article on a beautiful piece of American history…the milkman!
You’re welcome Kayleigh! I appreciate it🙂
I love this story. My Dad was a milkman for “The all star Dairy” in Jackson county. I remember he would come home for lunch and we could pick out a icecream snack from the cooler in the truck. He would also take us to the Dairy and there was a kid size milk truck we drive around in the garage where all the milk trucks where kept. Fun homes way back when.