Saturday, October 17, 2015

Milk Delivery.....wish it was still around.

You know what I was thinking about this morning?

Milk delivery.  Or more exactly why it is not around anymore, how I wish it was, how I miss those cute glass bottles dropped at your doorstep and how I wish it was still around.


I just wish things were as simple as they used to be.  I'm not quite sure I much enjoy this new fast paced, everything handed to us, way of life.  Maybe it's just me personally, I'm sure, actually I know that a lot of people are perfectly happy this way, but I tend to prefer the older days and the way of doing things back then.


Do you know the history of milk delivery?

I didn't until I looked it up earlier, yep, like I said yesterday when something catches my interest I tend to look for everything and anything I can about the subject.

So it seems that milk delivery started around the mid 1800's.  It really began more as a way to provide milk to city dwellers.  Apparently there were cows in the city specifically for the purpose of providing milk but because of conditions and not being in a pasture made the milk not as appetizing as some would think.

This is when the milkman first came into full force.

The deliveries would first be done with a horse and wagon and later moving on to trucks with ample refrigeration.

But why did milk deliveries stop and not continue?

Put simply, and summarizing it all, the need for the milk and other dairy products such as cream, butter, eggs and yogurt etc., was a daily one because at the time homes did not have any kind of refrigeration.


As more and more homes became equipped with refrigeration systems, the milk delivery began dwindling and here in the US by 1960's it was all but extinct.

Some countries still have milk deliveries and I kind of wish that it would make a comeback here in the States.

I don't know about you, but I miss seeing bottles delivered to the door, early in the morning.  Those gorgeous glass bottles with the foil top. 

Not to say that there aren't a few farms that will do home deliveries, but it really depends where you live and it's not something as easily accessible as in the old days.

I certainly wouldn't mind paying for fresh milk delivered to my door, it is so much more healthier and tastier than the watered down mess we buy at the grocery store.


I thought it would be fun to look up a few milk man deliveries in different countries, just a few.



This photo is from around 1910 and shows a milk man delivering milk in San Fernando Valley, California.


Milk delivery pram in the UK, early 1800's

Milk woman making an early morning delivery in Berlin, Germany around 1954

I do find vintage photographs absolutely fascinating and doing a simple search on Google will return many fantastic milk, milk man, milk bottles and history photos that you may want to take a look at.

I'm going to keep wishing and hoping that the milk man makes some sort of comeback soon, I don't know but I think all these advancements we make in an effort to make things easier for everyone, don't always translate to better.  Easier, yes....better, not really!!!!

Tell me do you remember the milk deliveries?   Do you still know of any in your area?

9 comments:

Cristi said...

When we moved to Colorado Springs, I found out that we could have milk delivered to our house on base. Unfortunately, we don't have enough milk drinkers to justify having milk delivered.

Carol said...

There are a couple in our area that do home delivery (of course, the Hudson Valley is farm country and there is a HUGE "eat local" focus). A few grocery stores around here also stock milk from local dairies (in the glass bottles). More expensive, and not something I buy all the time, but you can definitely taste the difference!

Unknown said...

We are fortune enough to have milk delivery. (We have for as long as we've been in CO. 12 years) I do look forward to opening the box every Thursday morning! I'm sorry that it's not available to you and more people. Thanks for posting this! :)

Unknown said...

We are fortune enough to have milk delivery. (We have for as long as we've been in CO. 12 years) I do look forward to opening the box every Thursday morning! I'm sorry that it's not available to you and more people. Thanks for posting this! :)

Laura {a spoonful of joy} said...

I so enjoyed reading this post! Because she wanted us to grow up with the memories of milk deliveries as little children, my mom signed up for it when we were around preschool age. I remember hearing the truck pull up early in the morning while it was still dark and being excited to check the milk box first thing when we were up. Thanks for bringing such sweet memories to mind. :)

Our Home Grown Adventures said...

Just the other day I was wishing that we still had a milk man! I would love to open the door in the morning and find a bottle of milk waiting!

Liz said...

How much fun to look at all of the great milkmen deliveries! We had the milkman growing up. He would even bring it in and put it in the fridge if you were going to be gone for the day. We still have delivery around us, but boy is it expensive!

Anonymous said...

We have our milk delivered. Love it!! Check around and see if you have delivery we use Oberweis.

Susanne said...

Oh nostalgia for sure! Growing up we had a milk cubby in the house where we left the order and the money and the milkman left the milk in glass bottles. Growing up we also had the breadman delivering bread and goodies. When my kids were growing up there was still a milkman that delivered for us, but no more. It was more expensive but it sure was convenient not having to run out for milk.