“We’ve come a long way, Bessie.”
Milk on Your Door Step
My inspiration for this post came from finding an empty milk carton in my refrigerator this morning. That would never have happened years ago when milk was delivered to the door early each day by a fellow wearing white pants, white shirt, white visor cap, and a black bow tie. He placed the glass bottles in the “milk box” sitting on the front porch. The gray insulated container held the delivery, as well as the empties, new orders, and payments.
Our milk came from the Chestnut Farms, Chevy Chase Dairy in Washington. The name was embossed on one side of the bottle and the other side read: Safe Milk for Babies. I guess that meant if it was good enough for babies you could feed it to grandpa and the cat, too. A stiff cardboard lid with an indented lift was all that sealed the bottle from spillage and contamination.
Since our milk was not homogenized, the cream floated to the top; you could see the buttery color in the bulge of the bottle. If you wanted your homogenized you did it yourself by shaking vigorously.
Later we turned to High’s, a chain of local stores selling dairy products far cheaper than the delivery man.
Today dairy cartons dot store shelves in mega markets and Mexican villages. You can buy ultra-pasteurized milk with a shelf life of over a month before it’s opened. That’s progress for mothers and children around the globe.
Yep, you’ve come a long way, Bessie.
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