The Dairy and its Family

How well I remember taking our class trips to the dairy when we were in elementary school. We each had an ice cream sandwich at the end of the tour. Makes me crave an ice cream sandwich right now!

I was hired by Arnold in June of 1958. I had just graduated from the University of Toledo in Mechanical Engineering. I worked for the Dairy until September of 1964. I have fond memories of both Arnold and Henry. I remember Arnold as being a very talented engineer and I enjoyed working for him. We worked together on many projects, installations and general dairy operations. These projects included many packaging changes from glass to wax coated cartons to plastic coated cartons produced with Pure-Pak equipment. One particular project was the installation of a 600hp steam generating system at the Bluffton, Ohio Plant. If I can be of any help in providing additional input for the history of the dairy, please feel free to contact me.

Jim Hart

I was just made aware of this website from a co-worker whose daughter is dating Andy Page. She mentioned his name and I knew her daughter attended Toledo U. So I asked if Andy’s family ever operated a dairy in Toledo — not actually expecting an affirmative response — and she said that they did! My father, Bill Harvey (Sr.), was hired at the Mansfield Page Dairy plant in 1951 when he was a junior in high school and worked there until 1968 (I was a freshman in high school that year and I’m now 55!). He left there and went to barber college and cut hair until 1999 when he retired. His health isn’t the best but he’s getting along ok these days. My childhood memories of the dairy include visiting my dad at work every now and then and getting to wear the cool paper dairy hats. Also, as I recall, ours was the only house where the milk cartons in the fridge were stored upside down since Pop would bring home “leakers” that didn’t seal properly on the bottom. I remember Dad worked for a man named John Wassel (not sure of that spelling) in Mansfield and I also recall a man by the name of Ben Boales who was spoken of very highly around the house. I don’t think Dad got to interact much with Mr. Page, or at least we didn’t hear much about him. Thanks for letting me submit my comment!

I came across a smaller milk can on my grandfather’s farm. His name was W. Scoot Bigony, Baltimore Ohio. There’s a brass tag on the lid with his name, Thornville, Ohio route 3, the number 11, and number 14659 and what looks like B&O on the lower left of the tag it says The Page Dairy, Mansfield,Ohio. I’m wondering if the milk was shipped by rail.

Thank you for your inquiry concerning the milk can you found. You are correct, originally milk was shipped to the different dairy locations via rail and in milk cans. In the early years of the dairy there was no refrigerated trucks, nor refrigerated tanker rail cars. There was refrigerated or block ice rail box cars. That is probably how it was shipped from Baltimore Ohio to Mansfield. The milk that was sent to the Mansfield plant was probably made into butter as that was the main butter plant for the Page Dairy. Also the milk sometimes was processed at the Mansfield plant then shipped to the main dairy location in Toledo Ohio. Again, thanks, for your inquiry.

My Dad, Mack, shown on the upper far right photo in front of his new truck, delivered milk for the dairy for over 25 years. He loved his job but could never understand why Mr. Page would not allow back doors on his delivery trucks.
During the summers of 1946, 1947 and 1948, although it was frowned upon but never actually brought up with my Dad, as sixth grader I worked with my Dad for 25 cents a day plus lunch and breakfast the first year and got a raise of 25 cents a day for each of the next two summers. Not the best wages for a 12+ hour day but it had some other perks besides a quart or two of chocolate milk each day. In the mornings, while waiting to load our milk for the day, I usually went over and helped load the ice cream trucks and always got a couple of ice cream bars for my efforts.
Two things, among many others, have stuck with me all these years: One, my relationship with my father, developed by working with him there, was, and remained, stronger than any other father/son relationship I’ve ever known. Two, I learned what it meant to work hard with the primary goal of providing for your family.

Wow, what fun it is to see all of the Page memorabilia on your web site.I worked at the Mansfield plant from 1953 to 1972. the best job I ever had.I then went to work for Smith Dairy.Retiring in 1999.It’s fun to see some of the names that I recognize from those days.That is where I met my wife of 57 years.To answer to Ernie McFadden’s question about no back doors on the home delivery trucks,I believe it was because Mr. Page did not want the kids hanging on to the back door handles and falling off.The door handles on the mansfield home delivery trucks were removed for that very reason .

I recently received a large milk can. It has the brass tags on the lid that says “Mt, GILEAD ROUTE 17 WMFGFESSM 31. In the lower left corner its stamped “THE PAGE DAIRY COMPANY, MANSFIELD, OHIO. Beside it the number 941. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about it as I am from Ohio also.

found an old metal milk jug about 2 ft tall it has willard route 14.. with numbers on it I take it it’s the model number or serial number.. also G Ray on it any idea if it’s woth something???

I’m searching for my long deceased grandfather, Darwin George Cordrey who was working for the Page Dairy in Whitehouse OH in 1918 when my mother was born. When Darwin’s wife Bessie became ill in 1926, he took her to a sanatarium in Tuscon AZ, but she died in 1927. Darwin returned to Toledo and went back to work for the Page Dairy in Toledo as a delivery truck driver. This is the last of what is known about him. His two daughters Nora and Mary Cordrey were raised by their maternal grandparents on the Bidwell farm in Whitehouse. Do you keep personnel records going back that far (1920′s and 30″s)? If so, is there a way to access them to find out his discharge date and last address?

My dad was Stanley F. Zak. Dad work at Page Dairy 36 years until closing in 1975. He delivered house to house often placing the milk directly in the customers refrigerator with their permission. doors were often left unlocked. He delivered to our home at 3443 Maher Street. Running to the truck he would take an ice pick and chop off a chunk of ice to eat like a popsicle. Blocks of ice were the only way to keep milk cold on truck back then. Loved the 1/2 pints of white or chocolate whole milk. Remember the smell of ammonia and sometime sour milk in the dairy. I’d watch as he checked out in the office the end of the plant. Parked his truck a block down and across the street. Best memories were the Volmer’s Park Page Dairy picnics near the Maumee River. One person and two person burlap bag races. Two person wheel barrel races were fun also. Best of all was the Page Dairy ice cream truck. My dad loved the people and his work at the dairy. Lester Corb was one of his best friends. Toward the end he drove semi and deliver to the A&P. I have three Page Dairy milk bottles in his memory. He passed away August 26, 2003 in Pinellas Park. Florida.