Thursday, July 22, 2010

LI Jones & Peters Dairy bottles discovered Castleton NY 12033

I have recently discovered 2 small milk bottles from Castleton / Schodack NY dairy's. LI Jones & Peters Dairy both labeled Castleton NY. Pre-zip code bottles. Peters dairy located on Brookview Rd and Jones located near Maple Hill Rd around the present day Maple Hill High School. The bottles held cream or were the single serving size bottles. I am actually old enough that I remember when one drank their school milk from such bottles. Discussing my recent finds with friends all agreed who remembered those milkmen days that milk tasted better in the glass bottles. The cartons never could match up in taste. The milk was of course fresher , right from the farm to the consumer in less than 24 hrs. Mrs Lillian Kunicki of the Schodack area told me of how she would leave the money for Jones on her kitchen table and Mr. Jones would come into the house early in the morning around 5:00 am put the milk in her refrigerator take the empties. Sometimes Mrs.K would leave little treats for Leslie on her kitchen table. Such were the days back then. A real family trust situation. Jones and Peters would often buy milk off of other farmers in the area when business was brisk. The farm of Lewis Hudson of Castleton & Ken Golden of Schodack Landing were 2 such farms that sold milk to these bottlers , especially to Jones. Jones left the milk business somewhere in the early to mid circa 1950's. The Peters family owned their farm holdings into the early 21st century. The days of the family farm have declined severely in the last half century in America. The town of Schodack NY has been no exception. Once dotting upstate New York were the farms , dairy, corn and other cash crops. Now there is but a few. One could not travel through the town without noticing the smell of manure. Schodack like many towns in the Capitol region of New York have become suburbs , channeling workers to the larger cities or suburban shopping malls. Such is the change 0f post World War II America.

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