Dairies in Sandusky

Ohio dairy farms have been providing milk and milk products to residents for many years. In the nineteenth century, milk was made primarily by local farms and delivered to homes. Lewis Neill, Jr.'s milk delivery truck is seen below behind St. Mary's Catholic Church around the turn of the twentieth century. After milking the cows, the farmer poured the milk into large containers and then transferred the milk to individual families' smaller milk containers from his delivery truck.

There are dozens of listings for dairies in the historical Sandusky City Directories, many which represented individuals who operated large dairy farms. Eventually there was enough demand and technology for milk and milk products to be mass produced. Esmond Dairy was begun by Elmer Otto in 1907, and was incorporated in 1920. After starting on Washington Street, the company moved to the 1600 block of Campbell Street by 1919. Delivery trucks operated by the Esmond Dairy improved greatly as technology advanced. Esmond Dairy continued operating in Sandusky into the 1970's.

This truck delivered Esmond Dairy products in 1915.

A red “Quality Checked” mark was a popular advertising logo used by the Esmond Dairy in this 1960 photo:

Pictured below is a promotional item given away by the Leake Dairy, which was located on Seneca Street and was owned by Vere Leake. It appears to be the cover to a sewing kit which was given to Leake Dairy customers in the 1950s or 1960s.

In 1923 the Sandusky City Directory listed these businesses in the Dairies section: August Arheit, Ralph Rodisel, Cloverleaf Dairy, Esmond Dairy, and the Windau Dairy. By 1925 Elmer Otto was manufacturing milk products and ice cream on his own, and A.C. Routh had taken over as president of the Esmond Dairy.

The Toft family had a dairy farm in Erie County since 1900. Toft's Dairy began its retail operations in 1935. In 1937 the business was on the south side of Neilson Street just east of Campbell Street. Later it moved to East Adams Street, and many Sandusky residents will recall Toft's long standing location at 2434 West Monroe Street. In 2003 Toft's Dairy built a large facility at the corner of Venice Road and Edgewater Avenue on Sandusky's west side, with both a manufacturing plant and a retail store. Toft's remains a popular destination for both local residents and tourists.

Historical Sandusky City Directories housed at the Sandusky Library provide listings of dairies and hundreds of other Sandusky businesses throughout history. Article 54 of From the Widow's Walk features an excellent article about "Horse Drawn Milk Delivery," by Helen Hansen and Virginia Steinemann. Read about early developments in the American Dairy Industry in this article from the Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library.

Lake Erie Kist Beverages

From about 1947 to 1958, Lake Erie Kist Beverages was in business in Sandusky, Ohio. Most of the time that the franchise was in town, it was located at 1401 Sycamore Line, where the Sandusky Paint Company is now located. In November of 1947, Kist Beverages was among the many sponsors of the Amvets Hour on Sandusky’s new radio station, WLEC.  Auditions for the program, which featured amateur performers, were held on November 15, 1947 at the auditorium of Sandusky High School, now known as Adams Junior High.

An article in the November 9, 1956 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News stated that Kist beverages came in twenty different flavors, including orange, root beer,  cream soda, strawberry and grape. John Routh, Jr. was the president of the company, which was franchised nationally. In 1956, over two thousand bottles were processed at the Sandusky bottling facility, and were transported to 492 customers in an eleven-county region in Ohio. Lake Erie Kist Beverages sponsored an athletic scholarhip, a marbles champion, and a bowling team. A sign on the company read “Get Kist for a nickel.”  This slogan was also printed on a bottle opener that was given away by Kist, now in the collections of the Follett House Museum.

     

A Kist beverage bottle is among the several vintage soda bottles in the Industry Room at the Follett House Museum.

        

Lots of small grocery stores in Erie County carried Kist beverages in the 1950s. Kist collectibles are popular today on online auction sites.   

Vince Edwards Visits Sandusky

On May 27, 1962, the actor who played “Ben Casey” on television, Vince Edwards, visited Cedar Point on Esmond Dairy Day. The actor is pictured with the 1962 Dairy Princess from Columbus, Ohio. Before his television career, Edwards had an Ohio connection, as he had been a champion swimmer as a student at Ohio State University in the late 1940s.

The front page of the May 28, 1962 Sandusky Register reported that 9,000 fans mobbed the popular actor, including two women who fainted. Thirty-five patrolmen from Cedar Point, as well as Mr. Edwards’ personal bodyguards were all on duty at the time. Edwards was quoted as saying, “I’ve seen larger crowds, but this was the wildest.”

Mr. A.C. Routh, Jr., manager of Esmond Dairy, and a Cedar Point official are pictured here with the famous actor.