Long before the days of milk mustaches and the "Got Milk?" slogan, people thirsted for something cool and nutritious to drink. In the early part of the 20th century, milk men were heroes.
In small communities across northern Indiana, milk men traveled initially by horse-drawn wagons, later in trucks, to deliver freshly processed milk and butter door-to-door to customers. Back then, the dairy business was competitive, with as many as three dozen dairy plants operating in the city of Mishawaka alone. Smaller towns like Bremen and New Paris had about a dozen each.
Ed Sheets was one of 15 delivery drivers employed by Mishawaka Farmers Dairy during its heyday in the late 1940s and '50s. He started working for the milk plant at age 17, shortly after graduating from high school.
As a young man, Sheets started out washing equipment and bottles, then worked in the bottling area. Eventually, he sought out a position as a route driver, which offered a modest salary plus commission.
On his daily route, Sheets did the bulk of his work before 8 a.m., carrying milk bottles to each home and announcing, "Milk Man." Then he proceeded inside to restock the refrigerator while the family, in many cases, was still eating breakfast.
This practice—of delivering basic food staples door-to-door—may seem odd from a 21st century perspective, but Sheets said in the late 1940s and '50s, many families were accustomed to receiving daily deliveries of milk, ice and eggs. A visit from the milk man was part of the normal routine.
For Sheets, it was all business.
"First of all, you don't have any time to mess around," he said. "A lot of people would go to work by such a time, and they wanted the milk before they left. (I) got to be kind of like the family dog. They (the family) were eating breakfast or talking."
At one point, the dairy delivered milk to 6,500 homes in St. Joseph County. In the days before refrigeration, drivers would load the trucks with milk then throw some ice on top to keep the product cool for the journey. Sheets said this is now considered unsanitary.
Sheets said snow made it very difficult for milk deliveries. Sometimes his truck would get stuck in the snow and he needed help getting free. Many customers were thoughtful and cleared a path prior to his arrival. Some would come to the truck to save him a few steps.
"I'd say by 8 o'clock, pretty well my timed deliveries were done," he said.
Sheets also delivered milk to wholesale accounts, including schools. Every day, he carried as many as 1,000 half-pint bottles into Mishawaka High School approximately 15 minutes prior to lunch service (the school didn't have coolers). As part of his job, he had to poke holes in the bottle caps and insert straws. He did that for nine years.
Back in that era, customers drank milk that was produced and processed locally. One of the dairy's most famous suppliers was St. Joe Farm in Granger, which was operated by the Brothers of the Holy Cross.
Mishawaka Farmers Dairy was built in 1921 on West 3rd Street. In 1926, the business relocated to South Main Street, where the building still stands today. Its owners were local dairy farmers who purchased shares in the business. Sheets' grandfather was president of the board of directors, and his great uncle was plant manager.
Sheets grew up on a dairy farm, milking cows on his father's 20-cow dairy that supplied milk to the plant.
During the 1940s and '50s, children often crowded in front of the dairy's large window to watch milk being bottled. Sometimes, workers would reward the children by bringing them free samples. The dairy conducted school tours and every year offered a year's supply of milk to the family of the first baby born at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Milk deliveries started to lose popularity due to competition from grocery stores and the big dairy processors. Sheets said the big chains often sold milk at a loss so they could make money on more lucrative items. After a while, sales eroded and the majority of the dairy's customers were those who had fallen behind on their payments. Some carried very large balances.
After a half century in business, Mishawaka Farmers Dairy was purchased by McDonald Dairy Co. of Benton Harbor in 1974. All of the bottling operations were moved out from Mishawaka, but Sheets continued to deliver milk that was bottled in Benton Harbor and then transported to Mishawaka. Eventually, he quit and became a school bus driver, working 28 years for the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp.
At age 80, Sheets is the last surviving full-time employee of Mishawaka Farmers Dairy. He has a collection of milk bottles, photographs and newspaper clippings that all serve as reminders of the dairy's once-proud era.
In Bremen, Spring Brook Dairy was founded in 1894 and processed milk from 15 farms all located within a three-mile radius of town. The milk was loaded in large cans and transported to the dairy for pasteurization, rapid cooling and bottling. The following day, the milk was loaded onto trucks and delivered to customers.
Three generations of the Kiefer family owned and operated the business through prosperous times, until the economic model changed and the business was forced to close in 1962. The last owner, Henry W. "Hank" Kiefer and grandson of the founder, is one of few people alive today who can remember delivering milk every day to customers. His first job, at age 6 or 7, was as a bottle washer. During World War II, he and his sister completed their milk routes before going to school.
At its peak, Spring Brook Dairy delivered milk within a 40-mile radius of Bremen. Kiefer said drivers had two routes—one for Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and another for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The dairy also supplied products to local schools, restaurants and nursing homes.
The iconic image of milk men wearing a cap, uniform and bow tie was true. Kiefer said route men were in the sales business and were dressed for success. In fact, one might say that milk men invented the art of upselling. For example, each customer had a standing order, but Kiefer said milk men were trained to ask customers if they would like to order additional quantities at a discounted price or try a new product. In addition to milk, Spring Brook sold cottage cheese, sour cream, eggnog, butter and reconstituted orange juice.
After leaving the milk processing business, Kiefer moved on to other pursuits, becoming an insurance salesman and selling real estate. At age 85, the Korean War veteran is now retired.
Kiefer said Spring Brook Dairy struggled with the transition from glass bottles to paper cartons and, eventually, gallon jugs. New machines were required to keep pace, adding to the cost of production. Following World War II, many housewives took jobs and weren't at home to accept milk deliveries. By 1970, the era of the milk man and the small dairies had ended.