Container
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Title
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6/10/77
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
00:00
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INTRODUCTION
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
00:40
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BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION : Born in Milwaukee, September 25, 1906; as child worked for family dairy business. Attended Oklahoma Avenue elementary school, St. John Kanty(?) parochial school, Boys Tech, and Bayview High School. Worked for Blochowiak Dairy as employee.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
02:40
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BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY CLOSES : Operated for 67 years before closing because of unfavorable trends, including reduced home delivery.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
03:15
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ATTENDS UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON DAIRY SCHOOL SHORT COURSE IN EARLY : Short course emphasized most important parts of dairy business. Students not admitted without prior dairy experience. Students worked in dairy plant; received and separated milk, bottled milk, made butter, made cottage cheese. Academic work included dairy technology, chemistry, and bacteriology.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
05:20
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HELPFUL INSTRUCTORS AT UW-MADISON DAIRY SCHOOL : Included professors L.C. Thomsen, Jackson, and four-year students Ken Weckel and Carl Kilzmeier.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
06:15
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MECHANICS COURSE IN DAIRY SCHOOL : Included instruction in piping and refrigeration.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
06:45
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IMPLEMENTS SHORT COURSE LESSONS AT BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY : Established bacteriological laboratory, chemistry laboratory to test washing solutions, butter for salt, fat, and moisture, and boiler water for minerals. Most water testing in dairy previously done by chemical suppliers.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
08:40
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PREPARING BACTERIOLOGICAL LABORATORY : Used part of assembly hall which had power outlets and plumbing facilities. Acquired glassware, ovens, and incubators for cultures and sterilization. Installed autoclave to sterilize water samples; hired three part-time lab technicians.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
10:10
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BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY KEEPS STEP AHEAD OF MILWAUKEE HEALTH DEPARTMENT STANDARDS
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
11:15
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BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY'S FAMOUS BUTTERMILK : Famous for cultured buttermilk; sold almost as much buttermilk as regular milk, especially on Fridays. Delivery men had to be resupplied with buttermilk midway through routes.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
12:25
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BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY'S BAKER'S SPECIAL CHEESE (COTTAGE CHEESE) : Only dairy which produced the cheese; a lengthy procedure. Developed recipes for customers; still get calls in 1977 although plant closed four years ago.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
13:45
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JOHN BLOCHOWIAK APPROVES CHANGES IN DAIRY, PARTICULARLY FOR PRODUCTION OF BUTTERMILK; DESCRIPTION OF MAKING BUTTERMILK : Father amenable to changes and very excited about buttermilk production, having made it in Poland. Buttermilk previously sold to farmers for hogs because would separate in bottle. Blochowiaks developed way to make buttermilk with very small churning of butter. Made from cultured cream. Good customer demand for butter but not as great as for baker's special cheese and buttermilk.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
17:25
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MAKING OF BAKER'S SPECIAL CHEESE : Explains how to make baker's special cheese.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
19:50
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JOHN BLOCHOWIAK WANTS SON TO ATTEND UNIVERSITY : Disappointed son did not attend four-year university, but needed to work at dairy.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
20:15
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DIFFICULT TIME DURING DEPRESSION : Ten-year depressed period. People unable to pay bills; dairy carried hundreds of people on the books. Estimates 98 percent paid bills after re-employment. City welfare department paid dairy to supply milk to poor; many people shamed by dependence on government welfare (called the poorhouse in the 1930s).
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
22:10
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BACKGROUND OF JOHN BLOCHOWIAK : Born in German-occupied Poland. Required to attend German schools; spoke German fluently. Rarely discussed conditions in Poland; had high regard for freedom in the United States. More information on John Blochowiak can be found in 1946 publication, We, the Milwaukee Poles.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
24:45
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BLOCHOWIAK FAMILY WORKS AT DAIRY : Sister worked in office, brother helped grease trucks and fill them with gasoline. Blochowiak did mechanical work on trucks and took care of horses.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
26:50
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ANECDOTE ABOUT FATHER CURING HORSE : Recalls father tying horse to climbing pegs on telephone pole and forcing wine down throat to relax him enough to function normally.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
28:10
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DAIRY KEEPS SPARE HORSES : Kept extra horses in case of blisters or sores from harness and illness.
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Tape/Side
1/1
Time
28:50
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END OF TAPE 1, SIDE 1
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
00:00
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INTRODUCTION
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
00:30
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CHILDHOOD CHORES INCLUDE PREPARING BOTTLES FOR BOTTLING MACHINE, : Describes the process.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
04:10
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CHORES WHILE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL : Had regular chores while very young. Played baseball only during vacations and on Sundays. Friends loved horses and helped him with feeding and taking care of barn in evenings.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
05:10
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MILK ROUTES : Routes began at midnight so milk on doorstep when customers awoke. Blochowiak as youngster was sometimes substitute driver; recalls neighborhood quietude until 4:30 a.m. when people began to get up an go to market for meat and groceries and to bakery for day's food.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
07:30
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BLOCHOWIAK DRIVES TRUCKS : First worked on trucks at age 12 as helper; by age 14 drove five-ton trucks to country to pick up milk.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
08:00
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NO CHORES IN MORNING BEFORE SCHOOL
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
08:15
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BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY SELLS OWN LIVESTOCK WHEN TOWN OF LAKE BECOMES PART OF CITY OF MILWAUKEE : Town of Lake in first decade of twentieth century permitted housing of livestock; dairy had 14 head of cattle to provide milk. Milk not bottled or pasteurized; handled in bulk cans and poured directly into customers' containers. In 1911 Town of Lake annexed by City of Milwaukee, which prohibited livestock. Dairy sold cattle and solicited farmers to sell their milk. Louis Hess one of first to sell milk and arranged to haul milk of all his neighbors; later, milk hauled by trucks. Dairy rejected milk above 60 degrees F.; in 1970s milk rejected if above 34 degrees F. [Later recalled correct temperature in 1970s was 40 degrees F.]
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
11:40
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ROUTE OF NORTH SHORE LINE TO OAKWOOD (OAK CREEK) : Sixth and Michigan Street south through such towns as Oakwood, Racine, and Kenosha to Chicago. Oakwood now part of Oak Creek.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
13:55
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LOUIS HESS CONVINCES FARMERS TO SELL MILK TO BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY : Does not recall exactly how Hess convinced farmers to sell milk to Blochowiaks.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
15:15
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MILK SUPPLIERS : In addition to farmers in Oakwood and Muskego areas, Blochowiaks, in 1920-1921, acquired two creameries in Helenville area, about 50 miles west of Milwaukee. Herbert Prause(?) managed creameries and hauled milk to them. Creameries eventually shut down because fluid milk more profitable than butter.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
17:55
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MILK SHIPPED DAILY FROM HELENVILLE TO MILWAUKEE BY RAIL : Blochowiak had to be at railway station by 10:10 each morning to claim milk. Shipments eventually occupied two-thirds of a baggage car.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
19:20
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HELENVILLE CREAMERIES CLOSE : Butter manufacturing stopped at Helenville about 1922-1923.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
19:40
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ROAD BETWEEN MILWAUKEE AND MADISON : Concrete road ended at Milwaukee county line; road passed through many small towns heading west towards Madison.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
20:40
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MILK COLLECTED AT HELENVILLE FOR SHIPMENT TO MILWAUKEE : Many farmers delivered still-warm milk to Helenville where it was cooled with well water, canned, then taken to railway station.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
22:35
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MILWAUKEE HEALTH DEPARTMENT STANDARDS FOR MILK : Standards the result of conferences between dealers, health officials, and farmers. Farmers who did not meet Milwaukee standards sent milk to condenseries where it was sterilized after canning.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
23:45
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DAIRY WORKS WITH FARMERS TO MAINTAIN HEALTH STANDARDS : Problems not always easy to identify. Filtration of milk the greatest problem; difficult for farm wives to keep cheesecloths washed and sterilized for twice-daily milking. Most farmers very cooperative; rebellious farmers discontinued delivery to Blochowiaks.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
26:50
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FARM FAMILY RESPONSIBLE FOR MILK STANDARDS : Whole family helped with milking; wives responsible for filtration because they took care of cheesecloths.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
27:35
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WASHING SOLUTIONS : Did not cleanse too well. Many mistakenly used very hot water, which dissolves milk solids and forms coating of lime which grew bacteria.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
28:45
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INCENTIVE FOR FARMERS TO MAINTAIN HEALTH STANDARDS : Had to follow standards to stay in Milwaukee market, which paid more than cheese, butter, or condensery markets.
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Tape/Side
1/2
Time
29:25
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END OF TAPE 1, SIDE 2
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
00:00
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INTRODUCTION
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
00:30
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AGREEMENTS BETWEEN BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY AND FARMERS : Never had written contracts; either party could end arrangement at any time. High fluid milk prices the chief incentive for farmers to stay with Blochowiak Dairy.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
01:30
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BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY PAYS FARMERS WELL : John Blochowiak kept milk supply at level of amount required. Con- denseries outbid by twenty cents per hundred.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
02:40
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CONDENSERIES : Nearby Carnation Co. condensery at Sullivan. Condenseries began to proliferate before World War I, surpassing creameries and cheese factories as largest users of milk. As fluid milk brought better prices, condenseries began to close down.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
04:15
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BEGINNING OF MILWAUKEE MILK PRODUCERS' COOPERATIVE (MMPC) : Monthly conferences held between farmers' cooperative and dealers to agree on milk prices for various uses. After its establishment, MMPC designated to represent farmers, but did not decrease haggling among farmer members.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
08:40
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FARMERS REMAIN LOYAL TO BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY DURING MILK STRIKES, : Overall, Blochowiak Dairy maintained good relationship with farmers. During milk strikes, farmers rode trucks to help protect their milk; dairy provided them lunch.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
10:10
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BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY MEETINGS WITH FARMERS : Occasional meetings to discuss change in trends or health department standards; most meetings with farmers called by MMPC.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
10:50
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SWITCH TO BULK HANDLING : In early 1950s competing dairy offered major Blochowiak farmers in- centives to change to bulk handling of milk in North Lake/Holy Hill areas. Blochowiak met with farmers and haulers to agree on way to change gradually from cans to bulk handling.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
13:55
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BULK HANDLING REDUCES HAULING COSTS : Blochowiak Dairy warned farmers to buy tanks which held at least five milkings since pickups every two days meant lower hauling costs.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
15:10
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OLDER FARMERS RESIST BULK HANDLING : All farmers switched eventually, except older men near retirement, who changed to another market or discontinued service rather than invest $3,000 in bulk milk tanks.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
15:35
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INCENTIVES TO FARMERS TO SWITCH TO BULK HANDLING : Blochowiak Dairy offered premium of fifteen cents per hundredweight during the first year, ten cents the second year, and five cents the third year. By then most farmers had switched and were happy with bulk handling.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
16:20
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PROBLEMS WITH MILK CANS : Soldered seams opened and became contaminated; later seamless bottoms had protective tin coatings, but they wore off and cans began to rust.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
18:15
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ADVANTAGES OF BULK HANDLING : Stainless steel tanks with rounded corners prevent contamination and rust.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
19:10
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CHANGES AT DAIRY TO ACCOMMODATE BULK HANDLING : Disposed of equipment designed for cans. Bulk cans not trouble-free. Milk drawn out by suction; if vent not in proper position, tank on truck crushed, as happened once. Bulk handling worth cost of remodeling; milk constant 34-40 degrees F.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
22:30
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NEW TECHNIQUES LEARNED FOR HANDLING OF BULK MILK : Milk haulers had to take short course at UW-Madison to learn more exacting techniques of sampling.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
23:25
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MORE MILK LOST WITH BULK HANDLING : Milk loss of 1-1 1/2 percent for farmer and dairy because of milk in bottom of tank and milk foaming. Tanks, however, easier to clean than cans.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
25:10
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FARMERS AND HAULERS WHO FAIL TO SWITCH TO BULK HANDLING END AGREEMENT WITH BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY : Originally had seven truckers, but only three invested $20,000 in bulk tank truck and continued to haul for Blochowiak Dairy.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
26:05
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WHY BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY SUBSIDIZED FARMERS' CONVERSION TO BULK HANDLING : To fend off competition. Had to follow trend or lose business.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
26:30
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REDUCTION OF HOME DELIVERY CLOSES BLOCHOWIAK DAIRY : Because of trend away from home delivery towards store pickup and because Blochowiak Dairy unable to contract with large supermarket chain, operation became inefficient, and dairy closed while still solvent.
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Tape/Side
2/1
Time
27:35
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END OF INTERVIEW SESSION
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5/9/78
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
00:00
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INTRODUCTION
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
00:30
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EXPLANATION OF ORIGIN OF PHOTOGRAPHS DEMONSTRATING MILK PROCESSING PROCEDURES AT THE BRIGHT STAR DAIRY COMPANY : Bright Star routemen carried packets of photographs to demonstrate milk processing procedures to existing and prospective customers. Photographs taken in old building except those showing can intake, which occupied part of new addition; acquisition of larger milk can washing machine necessitated expansion.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
01:40
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HEALTH DEPARTMENT OFFICER INSPECTS INCOMING MILK (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 1) : Inspector tested fresh milk by smell; also took milk temperatures when possible, but generally able to determine temperature by feeling cans. Inspector worked all day, four to five days per week, including Sundays. Truckers loaded numbered cans from vehicles onto chain-type conveyor belt.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
04:10
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DAIRY EMPLOYEE DOUBLE CHECKS INCOMING MILK (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 2) : Freshness checked by Bright Star inspector's “keen sense of smell”; temperatures taken if no health department official present. Milk dumped into weigh tank; empty cans automatically entered the washer. Blochowiak identifies washing machine, control buttons, and speaking tubes, which enabled inspector, to communicate with other departments and truck drivers. Dairy operated a conveyor belt three or four years before adopting bulk (non-can) milk handling. Bright Star hesitated implementing new process until other dairies experimented and improved the system. Blochowiak describes how Bright Star Dairy dealt with one of the bulk system's early problems.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
07:55
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MILK WEIGHED, RECORDED, AND SAMPLED FOR ADDITIONAL LABORATORY TESTS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 3) : Entire milk supply for each farmer-producer consolidated, weighed, recorded, and sampled for fat content testing; held ten days, then samples retested thirty days later by health department inspectors. Blochowiak identifies weigh scale, recording chart, and sample bottles.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
10:25
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MILK ENTERS WEIGH TANK (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 4) : Receiving weigh tank suspended from scale; capacity of ten cans of milk per minute. Scale reset to zero after each farmer's entire milk supply weighed independently.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
11:40
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INTERRUPTION OF DISCUSSION
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
12:20
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MILK ENTERS WEIGH TANK, continued : Cans returned to removable, stainless steel track to enter can washing machine, the most modern machine available. “It did everything”: washed covers, pre-rinsed cans with cold water, washed cans repeatedly with hot water and increasingly potent alkaline solution, and sterilized cans with a shot of steam.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
13:15
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EMPTY, CLEANSED MILK CANS LEAVE WASHER (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 5) : Covers automatically placed on milk cans; cans gathered on “accumulating conveyor” track for efficient loading onto trucks. Two outtake tracks ensured continuous operation controlled by truckers.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
15:15
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MILK ENTERS RECEIVING TANKS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 6) : Two 1,200-gallon automatic tanks alternately accumulated milk. Dairies at this time not allowed to modify cream content of milk. Bright Star Dairy's milk tested between 3.6 percent and 3.65 percent fat content. In more recent times, milk standardized to 3.25 percent fat content al- though farmer-producers legally able to ship 3 percent milk to dairies. Blochowiak also points out the tanks held 18- to 20-inch cylinders which contained ammonia to cool milk; further explains function of a third tank which held Grade A milk of a higher test as opposed to “standard milk” of lower fat content.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
18:45
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FLASH PASTEURIZATION REPLACES “LONG HOLDING PROCESS” (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 7) : Before flash pasteurization, milk held in tanks at 145 degrees F. for half hour before cooling and bottling. Flash pasteurization maintained milk at 161 degrees F. for fifteen seconds; temperature-controlled “flow diversion valve” prevented any milk from entering bottles if temperature fell below 161 degrees F. Two gauges, sealed and monitored by health department, separately measured high and low milk temperatures. Law required temperatures be maintained at 160 degrees F. for flash pasteurization and 38 degrees F. for cooling and bottling. Numerous and intricately arranged pipes welded into one piece and cleaned by flushing with cold water, followed by alkaline and hot water solutions, and finally by an acidic solution. Stainless steel replaced constantly corroding tin-plated copper pipes. Equipment checked continuously by Milwaukee Health Department and Bright Star personnel.
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Tape/Side
3/1
Time
25:35
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END OF TAPE 3, SIDE 1
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
00:00
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INTRODUCTION
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
00:30
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DAIRY EMPLOYEES' STANDARD DRESS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 7) : Dress an industry requirement. Khaki pants permitted later.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
01:20
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HOMOGENIZING MACHINE (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 8) : Consumer demand initiated production of homogenized milk although homogenizing process used previously to produce canned milk and ice cream mixes. Technical problems in building machine to allow dismantling for proper cleaning and operating under 3,000 pounds of pressure later solved when machine built with cylinder block of solid piece of stainless steel. Homogenizer raised pressure of milk to 3,000 pounds per inch to break up fat globules into uniform size and equal buoyancy. Globules given a negative electrical charge to prevent them from floating to surface and forming a layer of cream on top of milk. Blochowiak points out clarifier, a circular machine containing a series of plates and thin film through which milk passed to remove, by centrifugal force, unwanted foreign particles from milk, including leukocytes. Early clarifiers, replacing inefficient, manual straining technique, processed milk at 130 degrees F.; “cold clarification” process later development. Flash pasteurizing machine, composed of over 150 consecutively arranged stainless steel plates; on one side, pasteurized milk; on the other, incoming raw milk. No danger of mixing the two since pasteurized milk under 15 pounds pressure, raw milk in a vacuum. Plates also served as cooling device. Flash pasteurizer, control panel, homogenizer and clarifier replaced seven alternately operating holding tanks which retained milk for one-half hour. Decision to modernize equipment based on efficiency and energy-saving factor. Machines generated much heat, steam, and fairly loud hum, although noise not unbearable.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
11:55
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RECEIVING TANKS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 9) : Held pasteurized milk awaiting bottling; occasionally jammed or broken bottles or malfunctioning equipment necessitated temporarily storing milk in receiving tanks, which were later replaced by 3,000-gallon refrigerated storage tanks.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
14:15
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BOTTLE WASHING PROCESS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 10) : Dairy cleansed all incoming milk bottles for 20 minutes in Dumore washing machine specially designed with brushes to cleanse entire bottle. Bottles automatically rinsed with cold water and washed several times with increasingly potent alkaline solution and sterile water; finally rinsed with cold chlorine solution to prevent cooling waters from contaminating bottles; bottles cooled in stages to prevent breakage.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
17:40
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BOTTLE SIZE : Quart most popular. Later use of half-gallon bottles required purchase of new washing machine.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
18:10
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INSTALLATION OF DUMORE WASHING MACHINE IN THE : Recalls machine installed on bitter cold day with temperatures as low as -22 degrees F.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
18:45
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BOTTLE CLEANSING PROCESS USED IN DAIRY BEFORE DUMORE MACHINE INSTALLED : Formerly used machine without brushes, which cleaned with alkaline and turbulent water; not as effective as brush technique.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
19:50
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MORE ON BOTTLE CLEANSING : Machine processed bottles for 20 minutes of the 33-minute washing cycle; temperature automatically monitored.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
20:15
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BOTTLE BREAKAGE AND NON-RETURNABLE RATE : Each bottle averaged 80 trips. High rate of return due to customers' respect for private property.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
20:50
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DUMORE WASHING MACHINE (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 11) : Manufactured in Cudahy, Wisconsin, and custom designed for individual dairies. Bright Star Dairy's machine built in 1940s with special 12-bottle width to accommodate 120 bottles per minute.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
22:35
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GRAVAC BOTTLE FILLER AND CAPPER (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 12) : Round tank held 50 gallons of milk; operated on principles of gravity and vacuum; automatically controlled to prevent filling if bottle broken. Vacuum prevented milk from foaming at 38 degrees F. Same machine capped bottles with cardboard discs.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
24:20
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HOODER (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 13) : Caps covered and thermo-sealed with plastic-coated paper to prevent contamination and destruction when filled bottles packed and iced.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
25:00
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DAIRY EMPLOYEE CASES FILLED BOTTLES AND SENDS THEM ON CONVEYOR TO REFRIGERATOR (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 14) : Foreman coordinated entire milk processing procedure.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
26:05
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PLASTIC BOTTLE HOODS : Sterile plastic bottle hoods heated to 500 degrees F. and loaded into machine in a way to guard against contamination.
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Tape/Side
3/2
Time
27:00
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END OF TAPE 3, SIDE 2
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
00:00
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INTRODUCTION
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
00:30
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PROCEDURES BEFORE INSTALLATION OF MODERN EQUIPMENT : Previous bottle washer similar to later (Dumore) machine except only 8 bottles wide; new 12-bottle width accommodated 120 bottles per minute. Operator could comfortably handle 80 to 90 bottles per minute.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
01:25
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ADDITIONAL PLANT EQUIPMENT (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 14) : High-intensity light aided employees in spotting bottling and capping errors. Speaking tubes enabled factory-wide communication; each stage of dairy operation identified by bell code.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
03:55
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EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE : Employed two trained maintenance men to service machines, although outside help occasionally required. Machines automatically controlled by safety micro-switches to shut off power in event of malfunctioning. Most machines and parts purchased locally if possible; Bright Star stocked commonly replaced parts. Repairs usually done at night.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
06:25
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REFRIGERATION AND DISTRIBUTION ROOM (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 15) : Large room insulated with six inches of cork. Employee first filled “short items” for delivery after receiving order sheet from each routeman. Inventory taken at the end of the day to corrobo- rate figures. Raw milk delivered between 9:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.; milk usually completely processed by mid-afternoon. Always bottled in excess of what was needed to cover any losses due to truck accidents. Extra milk stored at 38-40 degrees F. and delivered next day to avoid spoilage. Refrigeration and other areas totally dependent on municipal power supply; power failures rare.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
11:25
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MILK BY-PRODUCTS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 16) : Farmers' milk production fluctuated throughout the year; during high production (flush season) 20 percent of extra milk used to manufacture buttermilk, cottage cheese, chocolate milk, butter, and sour cream. Blochowiak identifies employees making Bright Star's famous “baker's special cheese” and describes “cold process” for producing the smooth cheese. Identifies stainless steel hopper which dumped cheese into blender for further processing; a cylindrical butter churn, and three 400-gallon pasteurization tanks. At least five employees produced milk by-products daily; butter churned twice daily.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
14:55
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CHEESE BLENDER (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 17) : Cheese dumped from stainless steel hopper into blender; a specially designed stainless steel-lined machine which filled 30-pound tins lined with plastic bags; bags removed and fastened while blending continued. Cheese not aged but handled like cottage cheese. Whey, another end product, discarded down the sewer.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
17:10
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BUTTER AND BUTTERMILK PRODUCTION (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 18) : Churned butter packed into specially constructed and treated wooden “Friday boxes.” Each churning produced 1,500 pounds of butter. Bright Star Dairy boasted of producing Milwaukee's only genuinely churned buttermilk; utilized extensively researched process of producing buttermilk from cultured cream base, applying particular churning technique, and adding small amount of a “harmless” gelatinous stabilizer, since end product of churned butter is an “undesirable” watery substance. Dairy also churned a 35-percent-fat-content cream to produce a buttermilk hog feed.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
20:25
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ENTIRE LINE OF BRIGHT STAR PRODUCTS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 19) : Displayed in last photograph of demonstration packet; photographs served as an educational and advertising medium.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
21:05
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DAIRY TOURS : School children and Scouts visiting dairy toured actual milk processing operations; pre-tour machine-operation instructions prevented possible accidents, although dairy carried special insurance. Tour followed by milk processing demonstration and discussion period; children treated to drink and token gifts. Blochowiak lauds dairy's sales manager and former teacher's special rapport with children.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
25:05
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CHOCOLATE MILK PRODUCTION : Chocolate powder purchased from Robert A. Johnston Company of Milwaukee. Production required several uncomplicated procedures, such as measuring and weighing chocolate powder. “Chocolate milk” label specified whole milk flavored with chocolate; “chocolate drink” consisted of skim milk mixed with stabilizer to make a viscous mixture resembling chocolate milk. Schools carried chocolate milk.
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Tape/Side
4/1
Time
26:45
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END OF TAPE 4, SIDE 1
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
00:00
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INTRODUCTION
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
00:30
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FAT-FREE MILK : Skim milk previously produced in limited quantities for people on special diets; more low fat milk produced when cholesterol became an issue.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
01:45
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ORANGE DRINK : Orange drink industry wanted reputable outlets for bottling and distributing its product and sought association with manufacturers of high quality, government inspected dairy products. Ten to twelve percent orange juice concentrate processed with water and sugar. Orange drink bottled after equipment cleaned from milk processing.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
04:20
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ADDITIONAL MILK BY-PRODUCTS (PHOTOGRAPH NUMBER 19) : Dairy also manufactured creams, one-half pints of milk for schools, sour cream and unsalted and salted butter.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
05:00
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BRIGHT STAR DAIRY HAS COMPETITIVE EDGE DUE TO MARKETING OF HIGH QUALITY MILK AND BY-PRODUCTS : Good reputation for buttermilk and baker's special cheese; manufactured only high quality items. All products marketed under Bright Star; declined to produce milk and cottage cheese under different labels. Bright Star added Grade A non-fat solids to otherwise watery skim and 2 percent milk. Skim and 2 percent milk now supplemented with Vitamins A and D lost during removal of fats. Homogenized milk fortified with Vitamin B for body to fully utilize benefits of calcium and phosphorus found in milk.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
09:30
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REASONS FOR CHANGE IN CONSUMER MILK PURCHASING HABITS : Development of A & P chain supermarkets, with self-service and low prices for familiar items, e.g., bread and milk, helped turn public from home delivery. Employee unionization, which came to Bright Star in 1934, increased operational costs and decreased home delivery service. Bright Star Dairy ceased operation on April 29, 1972, due to increased operational costs and declining home delivery service, “the life blood” of the dairy.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
14:35
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EXPANDING SERVICE AREAS RESPONSIBLE FOR RISING DISTRIBUTION COSTS : Route areas widened due to construction of expressways and population shifts to suburbs; length of individual routes, extending to as much as 70 miles per day per route, required greater replacement of worn-out truck parts and necessitated purchase of refrigerated trucks to replace inefficient ice packed trucks. Early refrigerated trucks expensive; until Divco Corporation built a sturdy but expensive truck, tires, wheels and springs frequently collapsed.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
17:35
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DISTANCE FROM MILK SUPPLY INCREASES BECAUSE OF SUBURBANIZATION : Most milk obtained from farms not affected by the increased subdivision of farm land, but recalls one route that was nearly halved due to land division.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
18:15
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BULK HANDLING INCREASES DAIRY OPERATIONAL COSTS : Dairies helped farmers finance conversion to bulk handling; dairies contributed fifteen cents per hundredweight the first year, ten cents the second year, and five cents the third (and final) year. Bright Star Dairy hesitated implementing new system until other dairies experimented and corrected early problems; e.g., milk tank size and delivery schedule, and gradually phased out can operation. Expenses during conversion included cost of tank truck, approximately $20,000, and construction of bigger milk houses. Blochowiak estimates minimum investment of $3,000 per farm, maximum $6,000 per farm. Bright Star sold can washing machine to cheese factory in northern Wisconsin.
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
23:40
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BLOCHOWIAK COMMENTS ON ELEMENTS OF SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS : Only highly mechanized businesses handling large volume able to survive in the 1970s. Due to mechanization, “it takes a fortune to even begin to get into the business.” Blochowiak, working with various Milwaukee area non-dairy businesses, watched machinery replace manual labor. Successful business depends on its capability to make adjustments to speedily replace its “antiquated equipment.”
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Tape/Side
4/2
Time
26:30
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END OF INTERVIEW
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