Dairy Treats:
California collector revives vintage milking machines
By Leslie C. McDaniel
Those in the dairy industry will tell you that June is Dairy Month. But for dairy items collector Joe Pedro, every month is Dairy Month.
Joe, who operates a dairy at visalia, calif., has built an extensive collection of everything from milking machines to homogenizers, milk scales to cheese cutters. Housed in a two-story building at his home, the collection takes all comers.
"I don't turn anybody down when they bring me stuff," he said, "or they won't bring it anymore."
"My first milking machine was a DeLaval," he said. "My dad bought a dairy in '46, and that's what we had. I've been accumulating this stuff since then, but I never had any time to put it together or do anything with it until about 12 years ago."
And time, of course, is what a collection of this caliber consumes in vast gulps. When it comes to restoring the vintage milking machines, for instance, Joe is a master craftsman.
"One of those lids takes two weeks to do," he said. In theory, his approach to restoration is fairly simple.
"I just tear it all apart and clean everything," he said.
But there is a secret ingredient: "It takes a lot of elbow grease," he said.
He buffs with extremely fine sandpaper until the piece gleams. Then he sprays the piece with Varithene, a clear plastic sealer used on decks and boats.