HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-07-22, Page 1818 News Record • Wednesday, July 22, 2015
75 years of the Fairholme dairy
jNi/JanYfondlYrecaJl
when the milkman
delivered fresh milk, cream,
butter and other dairy products
to the front door.
Old milk bottles, tokens, and
pogs are highly sought after
collector's items. They evoke a
bygone era when home deliv-
ery meant personalized
eliverymeantpersonalized service
by a neighbour. Fairholme
Dairy is one of Huron County's
oldest family run dairy opera-
tions as it celebrates 75 years of
service in Clinton and area.
In January 1940, Russell Hol-
mes purchased the Elliott Dairy
from Charles Elliott According
to Jack Holmes, Russell's son,
his father was a cheese maker
Thomdale when his mother,
Ethel, read in a local newspa-
per that a dairyfarm in Clinton
was for sale. Jack Holmes said
his father drove to Clinton and
bought it straight away. Russell
Holmes, his wife, and two
young sons moved to Clinton
to take over the business.
Since 1924, the Elliotts oper-
ated a dairy on the northeast
Huron History
Dave Yates
edge of Clinton. Like most
diaryfarms, the Elliott dairy
herd was situated as close to
the town as possible to ensure
the delivery of fresh milk and
cream.
Kenneth Elliott, Charles' son,
carried on as manager while
Russell gained experience in
the dairy business. An article in
the Clinton News -Record
assured customers that Hol-
mes intended "to improve his
herd by securing abetter class
of cattle" so that the quality of
milk could be improved and
processed in their "modem
plant" at 88 Albert Street
Although there was compe-
tition from other local dairies
like Murch Brothers and the
Clinton Dairy, Holmes could
not have bought the farm at a
better time.
In 1941, when the radar
school was established, it
greatly increased the demand
for dairy products. Jack Holmes
recollects that the RCAF station
was a major part of the busi-
ness until it closed in 1971.
Until the 1950s, store refrig-
erationwas still primitive, a
horse drawn wagon was
needed to make door-to-door
deliveries six times aweekso
that households could have
fresh milk almost daily. It took
about five hours to make the
regular deliverywith the horse
knowing where to stop.
The milkman replaced
empty glass bottles placed on
the front porch with full ones.
Triangular shaped metal
tokens were placed in the
mouths of the emptybottles so
that the milkman knew to
exchange them with full ones
on his next round. If a house-
wife missed the milkman, she
could call Fairholme's phone
number (HU 2-9342) to place
an order.
A common treat for children
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was opening a fresh bottle of
cold milk to taste the cream in
the bottle's neck Sometimes in
the winter when it was really
cold the milk in the bottles
froze and pushed the cream
through the card board milk
cap.
By the mid-1950s, Russell
Holmes' two sons, Jerry and
Jack, left school and went to
work in the family business
because, according to Jack, "we
were raised in the business"
and "that's what Dad told us to
do:'
Indeed, Holmes said the
years 1958-64 were the best
ones for the dairy business.
Between the air base and the
baby boom, the Fairholme
Dairy supplied mills, juice and
dairy products to the Clinton
and Bayfield area. During the
summer, with cottagers and an
extra 500 cadets at the air base,
business was "booming"
In 1958, Fairholme Dairy
bought its first truck. Jack
Holmes said truck deliveries
did not shorten the time that
it took a horse to make the
Fairholme dairy pogs (milk caps).
rounds but it made deliveries
easier because the delivery -
man could stand up to drive
the truck.
Yet, before Russell Holmes
passed away in 1977, he told
his sons that "people will buy
milk from stores" in the
future. Citing rising costs and
government regulations that
required all milk trucks to be
refrigerated, Jerry Holmes
announced that Fairholme
Dairy would end door-to-
door delivery on June 13,
Contributed by David Yates
1978. Jack Yeo who delivered
milk from 1964 until the Fair-
holme Dairy ended home
delivery was Clinton's last
milk delivery man.
Currently, Fairholme Dairy
is still managed by the Hol-
mes family. Greg Holmes
(Jerry's son) continues to haul
local dairy products to com-
mercial distributors around
the area. After 75 years, the
Fairholme label is one of the
most recognizable in south-
ern Ontario.
Photos by Laura Broadley Clinton News Record
The sounds and sights of the second annual HuronSound and Arts Festival took place last Saturday at the
Clinton Raceway. The daylong event featured musical acts and artisans from all over the area. Scarlett
Raczycki, who organized the festival, said the idea was to demonstrate rural creativity. Pictured above
is Ava Dawe, a member of The Honey Sweethearts, which also includes her parents, Heather and Steve.
Below is Adria Anderson, a former Clinton student who has dreams of becoming a tattoo artist.