The Milkmen of Michigan, 1893-1926
Mention to anyone born in the 2000s about a milkman, and they'll look at you like you're nuts.
Yes, Virginia, there were milkmen.
These denizens of the dairy brought fresh milk to your house every morning...in glass bottles. Transparent or brown bottles, pints, quarts, gallons, homogenized or chocolate...whatever you asked for, they delivered right to your doorstep.....sometimes with butter, eggs, and cheese.
While this may boggle the minds of members of the younger generation, this was a daily, sometimes taken-for-granted experience. Nowadays you have to get up, go out, and buy it yourself.....in plastic, not glass.
Not just that, but these days you need to:
Check expiration dates.
Make sure the cap wasn't tampered with.
Don't take one with a dent in it.
Wipe off crusted milk that seeped out from the bottle next to it.
Lug it home.
Wipe up milk that spilled onto your vehicle floor after the bottle fell off the back seat.
You didn't have to do any of that stuff with home milk delivery.
Yeah, the days of milkmen for most of us are sadly gone...even though there are still a few still hangin' in there!
Take a look at the photo gallery below of some old Michigan milkmen, milk wagons, dairies, creameries, and more!
MICHIGAN MILK DELIVERY, 1893-1926
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