Milk...

Southwest Elementary class trip in the 1950s to a dairy that had milking machines like these

it does a body good.

Raise your hand, if you drank milk from a glass bottle like this at home, or if your mother used milk from glass bottles for cooking. Do you remember the Milk Man?

I remember Mama, my grandmother Drue Peebles, leaving the empty milk bottles by the front door. The number of bottles left at the door indicated the number of filled bottles that the milk man was to leave by the front door. Even now, I can recall the clink of the bottles against the metal wire carrier that the milk man used to transport the milk bottles from the milk truck to the front porch. the cream skimmed off the top was a decadent delight.

There have been several dairies in the Shoals area but I know of none that exist today. I recall a field trip when I attended Southwest Elementary in Sheffield to the dairy farm. The dairy farm property is located across the highway from Hardee’s on Highway 72 in Muscle Shoals. The buildings are still there, or at least were when I was last by there. But the dairy yielded to progress years ago. There we saw them milking the cows. There was a big picture window where we stood to watch the milking process from outside the building.  There were several metal rails that resembled cattle chutes. They herded the cows in and lined them up to the milking machines. Iirc, the name of this dairy farm was Glendale.

I recall feeling sorry for the cows. Now bulls won’t understand my sympathy, but cows should. I considered at this young age, how that it is only the female that has to undergo such, er treatment….and if I recall correctly, it was twice a day. Of course, I was too young to understand what engorged breasts might feel like in comparison then. But, again raise your hand if you will, I can now empathize with hands being used to pull and push and prod breasts into machines that further pull and push and prod.

The most important company for dairy to Sheffield was Streit Milk Company. It was located beyond the railroad tracks going toward Tuscumbia. I recall Paul Saywell Motors, Southern Sash, The American Legion Post and the Dairy Queen that became Dairy Kingas being nearby. Ideal Bread Company was on the other side of the street and could be accessed by going down Shop Pike. I remember Mama and Gran, Robert and Drue Peebles,  going there and buying the freshly cooked bread before it was sliced. The smell of the bread baking would make your mouth water. I also remember the ice man who would bring the giant cubes of crystal coldness to Mama’s house. With the big metal tongs he seemed to pick up and easily carry the heavy crystal clear dripping ice to her door. Sometimes I would be there when he would put the block of ice into Mama’s ice chest. She was the only person I ever knew who had an actual ice chest. But, I digress.

There was also the Dixie Dairy. It was located in Florence, Alabama. It started operation in 1938. But in 1947 Cloverdale Dairy bought them out.

There was also Rosedale Dairy located in Tuscumbia. It was a family dairy farm as well. After the owner died the farm was sold. Mary, who grew up on Rosedale family dairy grew up milking cows, hauling hay, slopping hogs, and feeding calves and chickens. She managed to buy three and a half acres and has aptly named it Rosedale Garden.  Read more about her here. She is a remarkable lady – a real GRITS.

Below are photos of Streit Milk Company glass bottles. Please feel free to add your memories and photos.

Photo of the two glass milk bottles courtesy of David Turner

Evidently Streit operated in the county before it opened up as Streit Milk Company in downtown Sheffield, Alabama. The antebellum home located on Little Hatton school road was operated as a dairy farm, according to Wayne Austin who had a series of conversations with one of the Streit relatives some years ago. There was also a Streit Store operated in the Little Hatton area around the same time.

Streit Milk Company opened in Sheffield circa 1933. The owners were Charlie Streit. Charlie’s father was Christian Streit who was born in Switzerland in June of 1865. He immigrated in the 1880s, either at age 15 in 1880 or age 19 in 1884. He and wife, Annie, were in Colbert County, Alabama by 1900, possibly earlier. He lived in the Brickville area and died in Colbert County in October of 1937 at age 72.

 

Annie and some of the children were born in Iowa according to census records and reported by Albert Streit. Christian and Annie Streit had the following known children: Minnie Streit 1893 –   , Ida Streit 1895 –  ,  Albert Streit 1897 –   , Nettie Streit 1899 –   , Charles Charlie Streit 1901 – 1988, Sadie S Streit whose name was sometimes interpreted as Sallie on census records born 1902 or 1904–   , David Streit 1910 – 2001, and Esther Streit 1913 –  .

 

The next owners were Charlie Streit and his wife Dallas E Whitlock Streit. Their known children are Martha M Streit who was born 1924 and son Charles G Streit born 1928. Both Martha and Charlie may have had a hand in running the family dairy business, but it is certain that Martha M Streit did.

 

Martha M Streit married a Foote, I believe it must have been James Rhea Foote. What I remember most are the photos of the Foote children on all the calendars that came from Streit Milk Company. There was always one hanging at Mama and Gran’s house, along with a Farmer’s Almanac. 

 

I am not sure when Streit Milk Company closed but I do not remember their milk coming in cardboard cartons. My uncles worked at Streit Milk Company in the 1950s. I am all but certain my uncle Rayburn Peebles started working there when he was a pre-teen; and possibly so did his brother R. D. Peebles. And responses here indicate that a lot of the people from the Shoals started their work life at Streit Milk Company.

 

Barbara Strange commented:

How well I remember the Milkman!

My dad worked at Streit Milk Company back when I was a girl. He would get up at 2:30 every morning and begin his work day at 3:00. He would load his truck and run his “retail” route, delivering milk to homes. I don’t remember much about his route but I do remember that he delivered milk on Park Blvd.

When he finished his route, he would come home for breakfast. We would be up, getting ready for school, and we would have breakfast together, the whole family. Daddy would have his truck loaded for his “wholesale” route when he delivered milk to cafes, grocery stores and schools. I remember seeing him bring milk to Atlanta Avenue Junior High School right after school began each day. Some of the places I remember hearing him talk about delivering milk to – Liberty and Bingo Super Markets, Blankinship and T. T. Stanley Markets, Victory and Brewer’s Café.

He would be finished with his day and be home by dinner time (we did not have “lunch” in those days – it would have been pretentious). Mother would cook a big meal, they would eat, and the rest was for supper.

I remember those small bottles of chocolate milk and I remember when they began selling the orange drink in those same bottles.

Remember when cream for coffee in restaurants came in those little bitty glass bottles? I have a couple of those.

I remember that our milk at school came in ½ pint glass bottles with the cardboard pull tab for a cap.

[snip] Daddy left the milk company and worked construction when the Ford plant was being built. From there he went to the Sheffield Post Office where he worked until he retired. He carried mail to many of the house to which he had delivered milk. Precious memories! [snip]

Related Articles

• Former Milkman Builds His Own Milk Bottle Museum (odditycentral.com)
• Mt Pleasant, Little Hatton and Brickville as remembered by Wayne Austin (http://rememberingtheshoals.wordpress.com)

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