Saturday, February 21, 2009

Small Town, Pennsylvania 1950s - The Milkman & Bonus - Latest Photos of my Great-Grandchildren

I was so fortunate to grow up in the 50s. We lived in a small friendly town – the same town where I still reside. The mailman delivered mail twice a day. The owner of the small grocery store where my mother shopped delivered groceries. The bread man delivered bread and special ordered baked goods, and, of course, Herb, the milkman, delivered milk and milk products. I can visualize the early summer mornings when school was out. My sister and I were still in bed and the windows were open. My bedroom was above the back porch and the scent of the honeysuckles growing on the side of the porch permeated the air. I remember the clatter of Herb the milkman - the slamming of the doors on his white panel truck and the clang of milk bottles. Herb made deliveries in our neighborhood two or three times a week. We had a box that was insulated on the front porch where Herb put the milk. The milk was in quart glass bottles.

Mom set the clean empty bottles in the box. Herb would take the empty bottles and exchange them with full bottles. There was either homogenized or pasteurized milk. My mother preferred homogenized. The pasteurized was a few cents cheaper and had a little stripe of whole cream at the neck of the bottle. Before drinking, it was necessary to shake up the milk. We often got butter, cream, cottage cheese and even eggs. My little sister loved chocolate milk and was ecstatic when Mom ordered it from the milkman. It was so much better than the chocolate milk that we made with Nestles Quick. Herb’s arrival usually brought out several of the housewives in the neighborhood. The ladies would stop their daily chores long enough to visit with Herb and get caught up on the news around town. Herb’s route spanned the entire small town and its outskirts. He enjoyed the opportunity to share news with these women who were his friends. During that wonderful era, the mothers were home during the day. Life was slower paced. Families had one car and the dads used the car to drive to and from work. Our neighborhood was full of kids and our time was consumed with riding our bikes and playing games. Eventually, the milkman ceased to be. Herb got a job in the hospital from where he retired about 15 years ago. He is still alive and lives a block away. He must have been very, very young when he delivered milk. Herb used to stop by to "shoot the bull" with Hubby. He always mentioned delivering milk to our family and other families in the neighborhood.
I have a few old milk bottles. They bring back wonderful memories!


BONUS
Granddaughter Erin e-mailed these pictures of her children to me this evening. I couldn't wait to show you!!
My Great-Granddaughter Jocelyn

My Great-Grandson Jacob

27 comments:

onlymehere said...

They are so adorable Sweetie! Isn't email such a great tool? You can get these pictures in a heartbeat and they look every bit as good as the ones you get in the mail from your granddaughter do! I remember the milkman too but we had him in the 70s. Before that my dad had dairy cows and they ordered the cheese and such from whoever they sold their milk to. Our milk came out of the big old milk tank and I didn't like it much. I do love milk now though (icy cold) and I really like 2%. We used to have to stir ours up but that's just how it was but I didn't like the taste was well. I love this memory you have and wish that life was simpler and quieter like it was when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s. Cindy

Carol Murdock said...

Hi Sweetie...How are you?
Great post, I have memories of some of the same things.Even after I married, I got milk delivered until about 1970.
The great-grans are just precious !

Hugs, Carol

imjacobsmom said...

Sweetie, what an ideal place to grow up. I grew up in a great area of the Twin Cities during the late 60's early 70's. I remember our milkman Steve. He would deliver milk to our house and later in the day, when I would be at my Gramma's house Steve would deliver milk there. And even funnier yet, if I were at my cousin's house a few blocks later, Steve would be there. He knew our whole family. So did the butcher, our doctor, our dentist and the furniture store.....it felt small town for a large city. ~ Robyn

PS My Grampa was a milkman in the 1920's - 1960's. He started with a horse and then had a truck when he retired. Your Grandchildren are adorable!

Mike Golch said...

Ah yes the milkman delivering the bottles.If we did not get the bottles in soon enough the cream would freeze up in the top of the bottle.

J'Ollie Primitives said...

It's been far too long since I visited your blog.
What wonderful memories ~ and the family photos are wonderful too!

Kathy said...

What adorable children, Sweetie!

I have a little gift for you on my Sunday post!
xo...Kathy

SmilingSally said...

My favorite uncle, Uncle Jerry, was a milkman in PA. While visiting him on vacation, he'd take me along on his route. I'd jump off of the truck and put the filled bottles of milk into the box after I'd removed the empties.

My family poured off the whole cream from the top of pasteurized milk and used it for coffee cream.

Cherdecor said...

Sweetie, You are such a good writer! I felt like I was back there in time with you! Your great
grandchildren are adorable! Just adorable!
Hugs,
Cheryl

Anonymous said...

Ah yes pennsylvania.Where I also grew up and im still here.You forgot Sweetie to mention the corner stores that were everywhere here.I miss them,LOL.We could go and pick any type of candy and it was really great.Nice wonderful memories of back then.My friends and I used to go after school in the summertime to the woods and climb tress etc.Thanks for bringing all these best memories back today for me.Great grand kids are cute.Jacob is adorable.I want to give him a big hug LOL.

Bo said...

Sweetie, you wrote such a nostalgic account of what a good life it was back in the '50s...
Your greatgrands are adorable...I was supposed to be named "Jocelyn" but at the last minute that was changed. ;-) Bo

♥ Kathy said...

Your great grandchildren are beautiful ♥

I just love that you have those bottles! They are really neat to me :) The story was wonderful too. I wish sometimes the world could go back to those days. Things are so complicated anymore. Hope you're having a nice Sunday Sweetie!

The Raggedy Girl said...

I wish we still had milkmen. And your Great grand babies are so precious. Don't you just love the grands and the greats... I sure do.

May God Bless You This Sunday
from Roberta Anne

Bridget said...

Jocelyn and Jacob are both cuties!
My niece still has a milk man but hers is delivered in plastic bottles.

Anne said...

Oh is sounds like a lovely era to have grown up in. What lovely memories you have. Thank you for sharing that with us. I think it's wonderful how you still reside in the same neighorhood. Your great-grandchildren are just adorable.

Heidi Pocketbook said...

Sweetie, I really enjoyed your fifties memories about growing up and Herb the Milkman. I'm not old enough to remember milk delivery or twice a day mail delivery. I think people that grew up in the fifties were so fortunate.

Nancy said...

Hi Sweetie:
Now that is a good song, I love it. I too grew up in the 50's and remember the milkman with the quart bottles. We also had an ice man and and bread man who came to the house. I firmly believe we grew up in the best of times. I remember walking home from school for lunch with the fresh smelling clothes hanging in the backyard. Oh yes, I remember it all.
Great entry and a great song to go with it.
Now, there are two beautiful little people in this entry also.
Wonderful pictures of them.
Love Nancy

Karen at Nittany Inspirations said...

Your milk bottle says "Bellville". Do you get there often? I love Bellville. In fact, weather permitting, I am going to take a vacation day on Wednesday, May 13 to go to Bellville. I check out the auction, Peachys Market, Peights, and a trip to a couple of greenhouses. Wouldn't it be fun to run into each other in Bellville?

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Sweetie, they are just precious! Absolutely adorable. :-)

XO,

Sheila

♥ Boomer ♥ said...

The children are beautiful. I wanted to come by and tell you how pleased I was that you visited and commented.

You have a beautiful family, and it's so obvious, a beautiful heart.

Libby's Library said...

How in the world to you remember all these things? I was born in the 50's and I'll have to ask my dad if we got milk delivered to the house.

Loved "walking down memory lane" with you...and the great grands are adorable!

akawest said...

The children are beautiful.

Twice a day mail delivery sounds like fun. That, I don't think we had.

I do remember our milk being delivered in glass bottles. I would get excited when my mom ordered something extra such as cottage cheese. That sounds so silly, but I guess I was an easily pleased child.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sweetie, thanks for your comments. It's nice knowing someone is out there : ) What beautiful g-babies! What a blessing.

Question: the poem about wearing purple..did you write it or is it from the Red Hat Society?

Two tragedies take twice as long to get back from. Your life may not be back as it was,but it will be different and may you find contentment there. I keep telling myself that too :) The first time, I filled up the moments with my baby boy and planting flowers. You're right it was just mere survival and had been right up until recently. And I am thinking, maybe, just maybe, I will find what happy means without having to research it : )) Great blog!

Theresa @ Take A Sentimental Journey said...

Oh my your post brought back some good memories to me. I remember the mikman bringing milk to my gmother's door. The dairy was right over the hill from her house.You couldn't get any fresher than that .
Your cutie pies are so cute !

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