A memory from the past
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (341743)
Rockingham, Australia
August 6, 2024 9:44am CST
In the photo, you can see a milk urn which was at the tourist village which we visited recently in Pinjarra, Western Australia.
We had these on the farm when my parents had a small dairy. You can see two dippers attached to the urn with a chain. We didn’t have these dippers but I do remember the milkman having such a dipper when he would deliver milk to our camping area when we were on holiday.
These containers were popular for a while for cottage art projects and could be bought with some lovely patterns on them. Have you ever seen these?
21 people like this
19 responses
@snowy22315 (181948)
• United States
6 Aug
My grandparents had a dairy farm. High tech for its day. I remember those pails well. That wasn't the high tech part..
2 people like this
@snowy22315 (181948)
• United States
7 Aug
@JudyEv They used milking machines that transported the milk through pipes and into a cooling tank. Boy was that fresh milk ever good! He had about 35 cows..if you were milking them by hand, it would take all night! They had a brand, but it was only sold to dairies. You couldn't buy it in the store under the brand name.
2 people like this
@sallypup (61563)
• Centralia, Washington
6 Aug
I was born in a rural area and lived there until I was about 5 or 6. (Spent more time there when I was teenaged.) Anyway, the milk can routes quit when I was 3 or 4 years old. My Dad milked an aged Guernsey when I was a teen. He sold milk to neighbors- sold it to them in gallon glass jars.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (87855)
• Bangalore, India
6 Aug
Yes, I have seen them. When I was young girl, milkman would come home every morning to deliver milk. They used to carry milk in these huge vessels.. Even now, one can find them in some rural areas gere in India.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (87855)
• Bangalore, India
10 Aug
@JudyEv Here, they would do it on bicycle. Now, most of them in rural areas too replaced it with motorbike. Here in urban areas, the milkmen come on bike or in small carry vans. The milk comes in carton or plastic packets.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160879)
• United States
7 Aug
Popular here as well, decorated and undecorated. We call them milk cans.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341743)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Aug
We called them that too and the smaller ones were cream cans.
@wolfgirl569 (107859)
• Marion, Ohio
7 Aug
I still see them here at times. The Amish still use them
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (80635)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6 Aug
Sure when I first moved to Latvia that is how everyone got fresh milk, In our neighborhood in the suburbs twice a week people lined up with clean bottles and a guy from the country drove up and then poured everyone milk from that kind of milk urn,
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341743)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Aug
My uncle used a horse and cart to deliver milk to the nearby town.
@LindaOHio (181229)
• United States
6 Aug
Yes, I've seen them before. Nice memories of yours! Have a good day/evening.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341743)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Aug
It seems quite a few myLotters have seen them but I guess they're not in all countries.
@FourWalls (68888)
• United States
6 Aug
My grandparents had one when I was little, but by then (the mid-60s) milk was in bottles more than the milk urn. Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof was a milkman and used one of those.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341743)
• Rockingham, Australia
7 Aug
I have Mum's butter pats and a stamp which was used to put stamp the pounds of butter.
@Marilynda1225 (83064)
• United States
6 Aug
I've seen those milk urns and always thought I'd like one for decoration on my front porch.
1 person likes this
@RevivedWarrior (2448)
• India
6 Aug
I do have seen these earlier and now as well. It is very popular in India . Most of the diary farms in India have these. I am not sure if I seen these containers with patterns. I have seen the milkman coming with these containers and sharing the fresh milk with some of the apartment mates. Some of the containers I have seen have a dipper chained to them, while others do not have those. Most of the rural areas in India have these. Interesting to see items which are popular in other parts of the world!
