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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, June 28, 2020, pg. 3 Albion once had numerous dairies in town and its environs which delivered milk to resident’s doorsteps, as was the custom of those days. The dairy business peaked in the 1930s and 1940s. During the 1950s these individual dairies began to merge and/or close. The last processing dairy in Albion was the Home Dairy at 101 N. Ann St. It was bought out by Ashley Dairy of Battle Creek on August 1, 1963. The Home Dairy was established in the 1930s at 210 ½ W. Ash St. It formerly had been the site of the GEM Dairy which subsequently moved to the Market Place. The Home Dairy was owned by Clifford Foley. He moved the business to 101 N. Ann St. during World War II. I remember as a child in the late 1950s getting milk delivered daily to us at Dalrymple School just a couple of blocks away, for 15¢ a week. Those who couldn’t afford it had to watch us drink it during "milk time" while we rested on our mats. Milk came in glass bottles with the name of the dairy molded into the glass. A round "pull tab" sealing cardboard cap was placed on top, printed with the name of the dairy. Glass bottles came in sizes of ½ pint, pint, quart, and two-quarts. Later the generic "Albion Dealers" name replaced those until local dairies were closed. As school children, we received the ½ pint size. In the early 1960s the switch was made to half-pint sized wax-coated cardboard containers. I recall that when you’d try to pull open the triangular spout to drink the milk, the whole paper spout would tear because of the strength of the sealing glue. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of "the big one:" A two-quart (or half-gallon, if you prefer) 1958 glass bottle with painted lettering from the Home Dairy. It measures 10 inches tall and 5 inches wide, and 4 inches side-wide. The red-color text on the front of the bottle states "HOME DAIRY, ALBION, MICH" surrounded by six stars on the right. On the back is painted a woman looking at a two-quart size glass bottle of milk. The accompanying stylized text states "For Those Who Prefer More Advantages; Space Saver, Leakproof, Thrifty, Sanitary, Quality, Handi Two Quart." I thought the word "handy" ended with a "y." On the bottom of the front side is embossed in the glass the words "TWO QUARTS LIQUID;" on the back is embossed "REG. SEALED 1 OB." The bottom is embossed "9 58 Duraglas." This translates to 1958 as the year of manufacture. Also pictured here is a Home Dairy bottle cap from the 1950s. How many of our readers still have any Albion dairy bottles?  "The Big One:" Two-Quart Bottle from HOME DAIRY, ALBION, MICH
 Home Dairy bottle cap
All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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