Saturday, April 17, 2010

Lane Brothers Dairy ~ Sepia Saturday

The young man in the buggy is my paternal grandfather. The date is sometime in the early 1900's; the place, Buffalo Avenue, Tampa, Florida.  These are the Lane Brothers and this is their milk delivery wagon.

By the time I knew my grandfather, he was retired. The family dairy had been sold and absorbed into a larger dairy. There was no talk of cows in the family, my father having happily put behind him his days of drudgery at the dairy. Indeed, when we moved to NC and bought a milk cow, my father simply shook his head in bewilderment and chagrin.
This recipe book dates from 1931 -- when the dairy was thriving.
Prize- winning recipes -- all using LANE BROTHERS MILK!
Our future milk cow ... here we go again!
For others' Sepia Saturday  posts, go to http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/
 
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34 comments:

Martin said...

I could relate to this post. Not only because I used to deliver milk in the early 70s for while, but because when we moved to Cornwall to live a life of growing our own etc, my grandfather (my inspiration) gave the same head-shaking response. I always thought his line of work was heaven-sent. Imagine my surprise when he told me one day, "I wish I'd had a better education. I've always wanted to be a linguist."

Jean Baardsen said...

Hi to Marigold! I really enjoyed this post. Both my grandfathers had stores - actually, next door to each other in a tiny town in Connecticut. My father used to deliver groceries for his dad.

Carol Murdock said...

Great post Vicki! Eric and I were just wondering the other day if Merigold is being milked yet. We have been working hard, hard, hard in the yard for over a week now. I hope to post later today or tomorrow with pictures! XOXO

Vicki Lane said...

My other grandfather escaped a poor Alabama farm to end up as a bank president in Tampa, Martin. He. too, was puzzled at out desire to go back to the land.

Do you have pictures of those stores, Jean? What a treasure that would be!

Carol -- We're not milking Marigold yet -- she's only now old enough to breed. She's in the pasture with the bull and we are hoping for the best -- which puts milking over nine months away.

Barry said...

I was surprised, going to live in England in the 60's, to discover that horse drawn milk wagons were still in daily use.

That photo really takes me back.

Good luck with your new cow.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear Vickie, I can remember the milk delivery with the wagon. Back in the 40's. Both my grandparents milked cows but only for the families use. But I remember we lived in town and got our milk by delivery. It came in glass bottles and you put the empty bottles back to be picked up. A great SS.
QMM

Tipper said...

How neat! I love the photo-and the cook book-what history. I'll be looking forward to the adventures you have with your new cow too. Wish I had a place to have one.

Tess Kincaid said...

I didn't realize Merigold comes from a long line of milk folks. Fun post and wonderful photo of the Lane Brothers!

marĂ­a cecilia said...

Dear Vicki, how lovely is to know that you will preserve the past of your grandfather Lane Brothers milk... it sounds so great!!!
Great to visit you again, my friend, and to be back in the blogging world... things are settling down over here, but still so many to do, so, so many.
Love to you,
Maria Cecilia

Mel said...

What a great post, complete with pictures and vintage recipes! The Princess Soup looks wonderful. I'm very negligent with the Sepia Saturdays. I started one about my Dad, and just got stuck, and am trying to get unstuck. Maybe time to switch to the farming side of the family, I have some great pics there to share. Thanks for sharing yours.

Merisi said...

Coming full circle, what a story!

I grew up on a small farm.
During the fall months, I often had to play shephardess after school. My little brothers and I would walk the cows to a meadow in the middle of woods. I can still feel the warm autumn sunshine on my skin, the brilliant light and the smell of potatoes cooked in the campfire. It was so quiet there, one could hear only the cicadas and birds, every now and then a twig falling. The later at times made us stop in the middle of our games and listen if somebody was approaching.

I preferred herding to bringing the itchy hay and straw home. ;-)

Vicki Lane said...

Barry -- In my reading of British novels, I kept encountering the term 'milk float.' It took a while before I realized it wasn't a frosty drink, similar to an American ice cream float.

QMM -- I remember the home delivery and the bottles with cream on top --heavenly!

Thanks, Tipper! I've done the cow thing pretty thoroughly in the past. This time my younger son will be doing most of the milking and I'll be a consultant and backup.

It seems to be in the genes (jeans?) Willow.

So good to hear from you, Maria Cecelia! I hope things continue to improve in Chile.

Thanks, Mel. You know, any picture is improved by a horse -- or a dog or a cow... or a cat.

What a pleasant memory, Merisi! I picture you as something like Heidi! ;-)

Kat Mortensen said...

Those are some tasty looking recipes; I love custard—haven't had it in ages. My dad used to love jell-o and custard for dessert.

Nice looking cow! I wish we had the room for one here.

Kat

Paul C said...

Wonderful nostalgic trip. The milk delivery wagon and all...We have a milk can in our basement which was taken to the dairy for processing. How times have changed.

Terra said...

Your photos of the family dairy business are neat, and it is so good to hear that you have come full circle and have a dairy cow yourself.
Glad to meet you, I am a writer too.

Vicki Lane said...

Poetikat -- those recipes had me wanting a nice baked custard -- something I haven't had in years.

Paul,Lots of the families where
we live used to keep a few cows and set the milk out in those big cans for the Pet milk collector.

Terra -- thanks for stopping by! I've left a note at your blog!

North County Film Club said...

What a neat photo, Vicki! I've got one somewhere of some relative with a horse-drawn milk wagon. I can't remember who it was. I'll have to look for it.
Congratulations on your new pet. She looks really sweet. Imagine having a pet who actually produces! Or, at least will someday.

Unknown said...

Wow I remember having milk delivered to our home in CA in 1968but by refrigerated truck. That is a neat photo...cows run in your family gene pool?

Vicki Lane said...

Thanks, Barbara! We have high hopes for Miss Marigold -- if nothing don't happen, as they say to ward off bad luck.

Evidently the cow gene is strong, MN Pat!

Lisa said...

My grandad owned a ranch here in Texas, but by the time I was old enough to be cognizant of my surroundings, all he had were show horses. But because he lived so far "from town", even in the 70's the Milk Man drove out to the ranch. I remember their fridge always had a such a variety of dairy products--ice cream, buttermilk, butter, "sweet"milk as my PapaSchu called it, etc.

What a different world that we live in today! :) I enjoy your posts.

Merisi said...

Vicki,
I even had the dress to go with that vision! :-)))
(I was more of a tomboy, though, getting stuck high up in trees and the like.)

lettuce said...

i do like the recipe book - great design!

Nana Jo said...

Marigold is a lovely name! This was such an interesting post on several levels. I have an interest in old recipe books and have quite a collection. Family ones are quite rare.

Christine H. said...

I think those recipes look very good...most of them, anyway. I can't even imagine how much work it is to operate a dairy, no matter how charming and idyllic it seems to those of us who have never done it.

Vicki Lane said...

My grandparents called it sweet milk too, Lisa.

I wish I could see a picture, Merisi, of you as Heidi...

I love that Thirties look too, Lettuce! Very spare and elegant -- kind of like Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor.

Nana Jo -- I have inherited lots of old cookbooks -- so fascinating how cookery changes. Garlic, for instance, when it appears at all is used with such caution.

Christine -- At one time I milked two cows twice a day. That's a lot of work but NOTHING compared to a big commercial dairy. I'd run hard the other way before trying that.

L. D. said...

I am at the tail end of your blog, but I must say I enjoyed seeing and reading it. I like your cow too.

DougVernX said...

You will have to try the Lanes Bros. recipes with the milk from your new cow. I love cows for some reason. Thanks for visiting my crazy blog. :)

Delwyn said...

HI Vicky

thanks for your interesting post...as child in NZ we had regular milk deliveries, by truck, and custard was a staple in the diet. Custard and home preserved fruit...hmmm

Happy days

Alan Burnett said...

As always, a fascinating post. The old recipe book seems like a family treasure and the front cover is indeed a work of art. The photograph of your grandfather on the cart is such a classic Sepia Saturday shot. As I say, fascinating.

The Silver Fox said...

Wonderful photo, and that booklet is a great item to own!

Vagabonde said...

I really enjoyed that post Vicki with the pictures and the recipes. It is so nice that you have all this still with you. I left so many things behind when I came to the US, then when my mother moved to a retirement home she threw a lot away. I don’t remember the milk truck though. I remember having a little aluminum pot and going to the “crèmerie” at the corner of our street in Paris and getting my own milk.

Vicki Lane said...

Thank you, L.D. -- Marigold's a sweetie!

I'm definitely going to give some of those recipes a try, Crazyasa!

Thanks for stopping by, Delwyn! Custard was not a big part of my mother's repertoire nor is it in mine -- but that may change.

Thanks, Alan and Silver Fox -- re recipe booklet: I'm lucky in that I come from a long line of packrats!

Vagabonde -- a charming picture to think of you carrying your little container to the cremerie! Did your family have refrigeration at the time? I had a friend living in Paris back in the 60's and their apartment had none.

Anonymous said...

I found that recipe book at Seminole Heights Antiques in Tampa a few years ago and purchased it for two dollars. I treasure it and have shared some recipes in it with a few of the current homeowners. They love knowing that a lady in 1931 living in their home entered that contest! Was that the only year a contest was held with a book? I have looked in antique stores since then and this is the only one I have ever found.

Vicki Lane said...

Hi, Anonymous -- I really don't know if there were more cookbooks. As I said, by the time I was around, no one talked much about the dairy. This little cookbook turned up in my parents' papers after they were gone.