Peering at the Past – No Cow? No Problem! – Milk on the Move

By Lee Epps

Part two of a milk-moving series

A century ago, Houston County cows were milked not only on farms, but also in town, including the county seat. As late as the 1920s, those residing within the city limits of Caledonia were permitted to keep milk cows on their property. People would annually lead their town cow out to a nearby farm to be introduced to a rural bull. It was estimated that as many as 60 to 70 cows resided in Caledonia until 1930.

For other milk-drinking denizens of Caledonia, a horse was also likely involved since milk was first delivered by horse and wagon to city dwellings. In 1917, the Allen family moved to Caledonia from Mabel and established home delivery of milk and dairy products. The horses retired in 1935, replaced by a Model T Ford.

The Allen family milked their own 30 cows in the 1920s, and the herd doubled in size by 1940. Unpasteurized milk was offered until 1939; homogenized milk had been introduced  by 1948, the year automatic bottling equipment was installed.

Hired labor became a problem with workers, in too many cases, unwilling to perform general farm work when not needed in the dairy plant. In 1980, it was either expand delivery into other towns or just keep the cows and quit the retail operation. The decision was the latter, keep milking but quit delivery.

Bill Lovett maintained a dairy route business in Caledonia until his death by heart attack at age 36 in 1950. So, Augusta Kunst, 29-year-old daughter of Spring Grove dairy-owner Belle Onstad, decided that dairy delivery in Caledonia could be in her future. Her brother, Carty Onstad, delivered milk in Spring Grove. However, Augusta needed a partner and approached a friend, 31-year-old Gen Schiltz, with a proposal of partnership. The ladies purchased the Lovett Dairy route, which included the 1946 blue Chevrolet panel truck. Using the name Caledonia Dairy Service, the ladies began delivering milk on October 12, 1950.

It would be a tag-team, marital matter for both partners. Augusta’s husband Al Kunst agreed to drive to Spring Grove early each morning to the Onstad Dairy to load the truck with milk. Upon his return to Caledonia, Gen’s husband Wilfred delivered milk to the schools and stores. Augusta and Gen then finished the route, first to the restaurants and then with house delivery.

“Most of the route became automatic,” wrote Gen, “but also a lot of work. Twelve full glass bottles of milk in a wooden crate was pretty heavy.” She concluded they must have performed the lifting and toting correctly, since neither ever suffered with a backache.

Despite the route being a routine, Gen said, “Every day we would have a new experience.” When they picked up the empty bottles, they often found “interesting notes” inside, “some that would really make us laugh.”

Staying on schedule could be challenging since many of the women customers came outside to visit for a few minutes. Some even invited them inside for coffee, but they did not have time to accept those gracious invitations.

“One of the restaurant owners, ‘Keily’ as he was called, would always make us a hot fudge sundae and insist that we sit at the counter to eat it.” One time, he invited both families to enjoy an evening meal at the restaurant. The main course that night was lutefisk, which was a treat for all the taste buds except Gen’s. “It wound up being a lot of fun, though, when seven people were going ‘Yum, Yum’ and licking their fingers, and feeling so sorry for the only one who didn’t like it.”

In only the second month of business, Gen and Augusta decided they needed a new truck and purchased a “beautiful” cream-colored paneled International Harvester from the Nielsen Auto Sales Company of Caledonia. They were pleased with their bargaining skill during the price negotiations.

One deliver day, it was about 20 to 30 degrees below zero when a car pulled up beside their truck. A man, who was a professional photographer, asked if he could take their picture. Being behind schedule that day, and with challenging temperatures, they did not take time to visit after being photographed. They did not know exactly where the out-of-town photographer was from or why he wanted a photograph.

However, a month or two later, a Shiltz cousin and former Caledonia resident, who was living in New York City, sent them a copy of that photo. She informed them it was on the cover of the International Harvester Magazine.

Their first winter of moving milk involved some icy incidents on roads and walkways. “We bought every conceivable contraption there was to put on the soles of our shoes to keep use from slipping,” Gen recalled. One day, Gen slipped on the bottom step at one home, and eight empty bottles flew and broke. Besides the mess, Gen’s hand was cut and bleeding. The homeowners ushered her inside, bandaged the injury and sent them on their way, and then cleaned up the mess.

They were able to come to the rescue themselves when they were somehow able to extricate another delivery truck, which had become stuck in the snow.

Another day, while near the  fairgrounds and driving on an incline, a full crate of milk, which was sitting atop two empty crates, slid off and broke when the brakes were applied. Mae Murphy emerged from her house with a pail of water and many, many rags.

Business was especially busy while delivering to the county fair many crates of milk several times a day. An extra trip to Spring Grove was required. “We did get tired, so one of us would sleep on the way to Spring Grove and the other one on the way back.”

They enjoyed watching movies at the State Theater, which showed their advertisement on the big screen. They moved milk for most of three years until husband Al Kunst decided to join a friend in his construction business in Florida.

Sources: “Allen Dairy Milk Run,” by Russ Krech and “Caledonia Dairy Service (1950-1953)” by Gen Schiltz, both in Caledonia Pride, 1854-2004, edited by Alan Fleischmann, 2004; interview with Millie Onstad Halverson.