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Dairies: straight to the door by Gord Conroy

Source: Tim Saunders . . . FB

Early History. Farmers started milk delivery with a horse and wagon to the townspeople of Stratford even before the 1850s. And for more than a 100 years, that is how most of Stratford got their milk.

The railway came to Stratford in the 1850s and by 1870 Stratford was a town of 4000 and by 1880 it was up to 9000 according to the Stratford Directory of 1880. Five years later, in 1885, it was a city, known as “The Classic City” which lasted till we became “The Festival City” in 1953. William Keane, an early ice man in Stratford, was also one of the early dairymen (see North Street).

Early Dairies and Creameries. By 1880, Thomas Ballantyne, MPP, had milk delivered daily to his cheese manufacturing plant in The Idington Block on Erie Street. He also exported cheese to other towns. He was still going strong in 1905 though it was now Ballantyne and Sons on Market Street. By 1913, he had sold Stratford Creamery to Mr. Alfred Holmes who moved it to 108 Erie. The advertised “milk delivered to all parts of the city; also fresh creamery butter.”

The Ballantyne family now ran Stratford Dairy. Mr. R. Michael Ballantyne, a son of Thomas, was president. He also ran a Dairy Supplies business on North Street and the stables for the dairy which were at 97 Albert Street. The Dairy itself was located at 116 Albert Street and was already selling pasteurized milk, cream and butter. The province of Ontario did not require pasteurization until 1938.

Peter Dacre, Dairyman, 1913 at 269 Ontario and F.R. Jezard was another independent dairyman at 195 Louise.

In 1914, R.C McKay of Daly Avenue was newly listed as a Dairyman. Small merchants such as A. R Latter at the corner of Guelph and Nile Streets were starting to sell bottled milk as well as ice cream. Other small creameries were opening including Drown Creamery at 56 Huron.

By 1930, the major players for the next three generations were becoming established but there would be changes, too. Stillman’s Creamery operating in 1924 at 185-187 Ontario would become Stillman’s Sparkling Beverages at 11 Cobourg Street by 1930. Stratford Creamery would continue.

Avon Dairies was at 177 Erie Street. Fred Marran was president and manager. Silverwoods with Mr. E. S. Powell as manager were now located at 189 Ontario Street. They were advertising “Safe milk, cream and butter: Finest Dairy Production.” They soon added their own stables at 108 Albert.

Avon Dairies tried to resurrect the old horse and wagon delivery; unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

By 1940, smaller dairies such as Wake’s Dairy at 90 Earl Street at the corner of Princess would be added and Melroy’s at 56 Nile Street. Finnegan’s Dairy would be located on O’Loane at the corner of Huron. Ballantyne Dairies would be at 190 Birmingham.

In Centennial Year, 1967, Wakes and Silverwoods would still be going strong but the changes were coming quickly and home delivery mostly became a memory.

Avon Dairies had their headquarters on Erie Street across from Riehl Motors. In the 1990s,

The Glass Milk Bottle. The invention of the glass milk bottle in 1878 was a turning point everywhere for milk delivery. Before that time, farmers with their own horse and wagon made the rounds and dipped a measure of some sort into large churns of milk on their wagons and ladled milk into containers provided by the individual householders. Not that sanitary. After that time, milk delivery started to have dedicated glass milk bottle containers that families did not have to share with neighbors. A cap, a logo design, and more, quickly followed which made it easier to deliver and to keep track of how much milk customers were requesting. Much more sanitary.

The Milk Box. And with the advent of milk in bottles, rather than in large churns or vats, the milk box was incorporated into the building of new houses for better home delivery.

After 1900, most new houses in Stratford had milk cubbies or milk boxes built into the back or side of the house where the milkman read your note for what was needed, picked up the empty bottles, your prepaid token or cash payment and left the bottled milk. Details were worked out between the householder and the milkman. People were friends with their deliverymen.

Sometimes the milk box was used for a different purpose when a younger and much smaller member of the family crawled through the milk box to open a door for an adult who had locked himself out of the house.

The Delivery. On the delivery routes, which could involve several miles, the milkman had a cap and wore white to match his wagon. He made change with a metal change sorter which on his belt with separate sections for quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. We thought that was so neat. He carried the milk bottles in a metal carrying crate with separated metals sections for each individual bottle that clinked like music against the metal divisions as he walked. Some dairies had horses all of one colour. Another dairy would have horses of a different colour. All had stables. All horses were well cared for.

In the late 1950s and right into the 1960s, horses still pulled the milk wagons. The horses knew where to stop along the route and all of us kids loved to see them and knew what we were allowed to do or not do. Most wagons were white, well maintained, very clean and repainted every year.

In the 1960s, milk boxes lost their value when cartons, jugs and plastic bags of milk appeared in the big convenience stores and customers could save money. As late as 1975, 94% of milk came in bottles; by 2016, plastic bags and cartons had reduced that bottled milk to 3%.

Milk Box

Norm Freeman

Norm Freeman’s Famous Milkman’s Poll in 1953.

An Interesting story involving a Stratford milkman who worked for Silverwoods in 1953 is this one involving Norm Freeman. He began asking his customers what they thought of the upcoming Stratford Festival just out of curiosity.

“Then one day a man came to see me. It was Tyrone Guthrie. He asked me about my poll and asked me to get serious about it. From then on I asked 12 people every day.” Norm Freeman kept careful track of the results for a month. He asked 304 town dwellers, 11 farmers and 7 visitors to Stratford during that time in his official poll. An astonishing 258 were in favour…33 were indifferent, 9 were on the fence, and 22 were opposed. Freeman admitted he “talked a few of the doubters around to supporting it.”

As for Mr. Freeman? He became the House Manager of the new Stratford Festival that very first season, a position he held for many years. Boy ushers will remember him well in the 50s.

Brief History of Home Delivery in Stratford

In the early days of Stratford, homes didn’t have refrigeration for perishable items, so daily milk delivery, often accompanied by eggs, butter and even meat was necessary to prevent perishables especially milk from spoiling before people could drink it. It was the safest and most cost-effective way to get milk and other perishables to customers and farmers delivered it to the townspeople by horse and wagon.

The railway came to town in the 1850s and by 1870, Stratford had a population of 4000. The milk bottle was patented in 1878 and that and new knowledge brought about more concern with sanitation and cleanliness. By 1880. Stratford had a population of 9000 and milk delivery became commonplace.

That continued into the 1950s but started to change with refrigeration and big grocery stores and cost cutting measures, but even into the 1960s, many companies still delivered groceries, bread and dairy products right to your door. In fact, most products were delivered. Imagine. The deliverymen were friends and neighbours. If you were out or forgot to leave a note in your milk box about what was needed, the deliveryman knew just what to leave since it was Tuesday and you always ordered an extra cream on Tuesday to go with two pasteurized milk. Pasteurization became a requirement in Ontario in 1938.

There were some trucks delivering milk as early as the 1920s but mostly horses pulled the milk wagons right into the 1960s. They knew where to stop along the street and all of us kids loved to see them, call them by name and occasionally give them a pat or a treat. Source: Dairy Alliance Compiled by Gord Conroy

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