The cream from the separator was usually caught in a large can. When the family went into town for the week's shopping - commonly on Saturday afternoon or night - the cream was taken to the local creamery. The cream was sold with payment based upon butterfat content. Often the creamery was operated in conjunction with the grocery or general store, and eggs also were sold. The proceeds were typically used to purchase the family's groceries. During the Depression era, the sale of farm produce often generated the only funds available for staples.
Some towns also had independent creameries. Each evening, the cream purchased during the day was taken to the local depot in large cream cans - usually 10-gallon cans - and shipped to plants in larger cities. At the depot, cans of cream were placed upon a railroad baggage cart or wagon, and wheeled alongside the railroad tracks. One of the local passenger trains stopped each evening and the cans of cream were
picked up and hauled away in the baggage car: this must have been the origin of the term "milk stop."
Forever gone are the days when the farm boy went out after the milking herd in the dewy morning and purple twilight. Today, milk is generally purchased at the grocery store, in plastic jugs instead of glass bottles. And people who consume the milk have little concept of the process by which it is obtained: Old Bossy's contribution is seldom realized or appreciated.
Paul F. Long is a freelance writer from Kansas. His work has appeared in Kansas Farmer, Texas Farmer-Stockman, Kanhistique, and Rural Heritage.