Editor's Note: This article is part of a series on local dairy history in honor of Indiana's bicentennial. This particular story was planned weeks ago and is based on a recent interview with David Blough, who died in a farm accident this week. With a heavy heart, the Exchange presents this story as a tribute to Blough and his family.
About 75 years ago, a Goshen dairy plant owner took the concept of home milk deliveries one step further by setting up vending machines in local factories.
When Harry Blough returned from the Navy after World War I, he started a Grade A milk bottling plant at 317 Queen St. on the north side of Goshen. In those early days, Blough purchased milk from local farmers, then processed it and delivered it to homes in a 15-mile radius of Goshen. Later on, Harry's son, Duane, began helping after his graduation from Goshen High School.
In the mid-1940s, Blough Dairy expanded its operations by providing milk in vending machines for employees in local factories. The half-pint cartons sold for 10 cents apiece. The dairy also delivered milk to local restaurants, hospitals and schools.
The vending machines were so popular with the factory workers that many began asking for sandwiches as well as milk. Harry's wife, Leanna, and their daughter, Shirley Hall, and several neighbors cooked hamburgers, sloppy joes and hot dogs—what they called "loose" meat—every day for the various factories. The sandwiches were wrapped with wax paper and placed in boxes for the journey.
According to a family diary written by Duane's wife, Dorothy, "the men (Harry, Duane and son-in-law Kenny Hall) would hurry to the factories to get there with the sandwiches still hot for their morning break" at 9 a.m.
In the diary, Dorothy added, "It was a good business, and Grandma (Leanna) always felt that she was keeping the dairy going with the money they made from the sandwich business. Dad (Duane) continued to come into the dairy to help process milk and 'make factories' after we were on the farm."
Starting in 1951, the dairy was having a more difficult time securing a steady supply of milk, so Duane and Dorothy purchased a dairy farm and began milking cows. They began with seven cows purchased at a local auction. In 1962, the first registered cows were purchased when Duane and Dorothy's son, David, began his 4-H career.
After Duane and his family moved to the farm, he would milk the cows in the morning and then head to town with the milk in cans in the truck. After the milk routes were run, he would return home for the evening milking and other chores. When a milking parlor was added in 1972, Duane converted an old fire truck into a tanker to haul milk to the dairy.
During his teenage years, David worked at the dairy, loading 100-pound milk cans onto panel tracks. He also worked at his parent's dairy farm, taking care of the calves, feeding cows and running the breeding program.
David said his grandfather's "on the go" sandwich business became the forerunner of today's mobile catering services. He said the sandwich routes began in 1949 and continued through 1976.
However, change occurred in the 1970s, as many small, family-run processing plants began to fade from the landscape. While the sales model for milk had changed from home deliveries to grocery stores, Blough Dairy had pioneered a new concept that is used today by catering businesses. It was also the last family owned processor in Elkhart County to use glass bottles for home delivery.
At Blough Dairy, the third generation of the work force, represented by David and wife Michelle, decided to focus on farming, while David's parents decided it was time to retire. The plant was closed in 1974, but the dairy farm continues. David and Michelle's son, Craig, and daughter, Emilie, represent the fourth generation of Blough Dairy Farms.