REMEMBER WHEN THE MILKMAN DELIVERED RETURNABLE GLASS BOTTLES OF MILK TO YOUR HOME & PUT THEM IN MILK BOXES?
At 1 time 100s of dairies offered home delivery of milk in the coal region. If you had a few cows, you delivered milk. Guer's Dairy in Tumbling Run outside Pottsville had as many as 15,000 customers. In 1960, 95% of Guer's revenue came from home delivery. When the company ended home delivery in 1993, door-to-door sales accounted for <5 data-blogger-escaped-br="">
Remember pint & half pint milk bottles in school? Did chocolate milk really come from chocolate cows? I remember Ideal Farms South Tamaqua had 1/2 gallon bottles & later introduced "milk in a bag". Heisler's Cloverleaf Dairy in the Lewistown Valley delivered milk to my parent's home in Coaldale. The milk man is believe was Howie Martin.
What killed the milkman? It was the refrigerator that made its way into homes in the early 50s replacing ice boxes. Refrigeration equipment then found it's way into "mom & pop" stores & supermarkets. Dairies phased out glass milk bottles & home delivery in the 70s & 80s as a result of technology & consolidations.
Recognize any of these dairies--few remain, but most are gone. RE Gottschall & Brokhoff Dairies Pottsville; JMP Sanitary Dairy Coaldale; Pecora's, Farmer's, & Price's Dairies Hazleton: Erdman's Dairy Weatherly; Keilman's, H Rang, & Lakeview Dairies Barnesville; Behren's Bear Creek Dairy East Mauch Chunk; Kunkel Farms Dairy Orwigsburg.
Beltz's & Hahn's Cloverleaf Dairies Palmerton; Zimmerman's Dairy--originally in New Mahoning but now in Lehighton after they acquired Gerstlauer's Dairy in 1967; Coyle Brothers & Frank Harley Dairies Mahanoy City; Werner's Dairy Auburn; Crestmont Dairy Frackville; Hunter's Dairy Ashland; EC Oswald & Ideal Farm Dairies West Penn Twp. Wagner's Dairy Middleport; Freeman & Lehigh Valley Dairies Allentown; Steigerwalt's & Kirkendall's Dairies Lehighton; Leiby's Farm Dairy in the New England Valley; Moyer Brothers Honey Brook Dairy & AT Reigel Schuylkill Dairy Farm both of Schuylkill Haven.
Again--those are just a few of the coal region dairies. Please COMMENT below with dairies I missed. As always, thanks for SHARING our posts & keeping great coal region memories alive!
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