When a story on local dairies of the past appeared in the “Silverbrook Legacies” series of this paper, it evoked many memories.

Ray Connor was one of many readers who took note of the Silverbrook story. No wonder — he began his career as a deliveryman for local dairies in 1943.

He said he was impressed to visit with the editor, Katie Rohman, because he suspected the Exner bottle, donated by Dimler and described as only about 2 inches high, was probably one of the tiny creamer bottles dairies supplied and restaurants filled to serve customers with cups of coffee.

So much interest was generated, I went to the Connor home for a follow-up visit. Over a piece of “bunny” cake, made by Connor’s daughter, Elaine Miller, with the help of great-grandchildren Aiden, Ainslie and Landon, he reminisced about his years delivering dairy products to residents and small businesses in the Niles area.

“There were five dairies operating in Niles: Exner Dairy, City Dairy, Niles Creamery, Producer’s Dairy and the Victory Dairy, owned by Bob File. Bill

Saathoff bought the Niles Creamery and then combined with City Dairy to become United Dairy, which was eventually purchased by Producer’s,” Connor said.

He shared his bottle collection with items from local dairies and even some from Canada and Italy. Amazed at the price the one little bottle commanded, he showed off some of his little creamers from City Dairy along with one of the old-style cream top bottles.

“Do you remember there used to be a cup on top to gather the cream, then you could take the cream out first before pouring the milk?” he asked.

Connor recalled saving the bottle after a heavy rain in Niles had flooded the Niles Creamery location at the corner of Second and Eagle streets, kitty-corner to the old Timberline Bowling Alley. The creamery bottle was underwater when he recovered it.

He recalled the times Heine Exner left City Dairy as he started the Exner facility at the back of Thirteenth and Eagle streets. One of his workers, Homer Eden, was a single man who lived in a trailer in the parking lot nearby. Connor, who lived two doors south of the dairy on 13th Street, began driving around the lot, without a license, when he was 14.

“It was lots of fun and lots of good experience,” he said.

An old advertisement for City Dairy shows a young driver, Keith Welsh. It is a very personal piece, in which Welsh told a bit about himself, his route and how he lived in Buchanan. The picture and the personal information appeared under a headline that said, “Let me be your milkman.”

It speaks to a time when people really did want to see and know those they did business with, personally.

“He was really a nice young man. Left to open a stationary store in Buchanan. He died too young,” Connor said.

He remembers when Bob Singer, who lived on Creek Road, off Ullery Road, started delivery door to door with milk from his own cows.

“The state came in and halted the operation because the milk was raw,” Connor said.

The only way raw milk is available to the public today is through the lease of a cow.

Connor ended his career after leaving Producer’s to begin a delivery business in 1970, which he operated for 11 years.

The remaining dairies dropped house delivery, so he began his own business to fill that gap. It began with 3,500 retail households. When he retired and sold the business to Dave Johnson of Buchanan, there were only 29 households left.

To take a current picture of Connor with his bottles, he went to the curio in his kitchen and pulled out some more bottles.

But wait — what’s this? A bottle used for beverages of the malted variety?

In its neck is an obituary and advertisement bearing the name of George F. Reum, which appears on the bottle.

Seems he was an agent for McAvoy Brewing Co: “By special arrangements, I am permitted to deliver Malt Marrow to your door for only one dollar a dozen.

Call, write or phone No. 46, or order through your druggist.”

That may be another story in the making.

City passionate about its history

Even those who have never been to Niles have been impressed by this community’s dedication to preserving its past. A recent story in the “Silverbrook Legacies” series of the Niles Daily Star created much interest.

Ernie Dimler who had been interviewed for the story because of an Exner Dairy bottle he was selling on eBay decided if he couldn’t return that item to the city that cared so much about its history, he would encourage others to consider returning other Niles artifacts. We have since received a pristine quart milk bottle from the former City Dairy to donate to a local museum from another collector, Dick Chenoweth of Parkville, Md.

A week after the article appeared to great local response, a padded envelope with four old postcards was received from Dimler. One postcard, addressed to a Mrs. Julius Rasmussen of Stillwater, Minn., shows the former Episcopal Church on South Third Street. It is postmarked “1913” and simply says, “Best regards, Mrs. Searl.” Two other cards, one of them colored, are of the former Niles Post Office. One shows early model cars from the 1920s, and the very ornate lamp posts of the day.

Local resident and former milkman Ray Connor was there when we opened the packages containing the bottle from Chenoweth and the postcards from Dimler.

“I remember that place!” Connor said as he looked at the fourth postcard. It is of the old East Side Resort at Barren Lake.

“A friend of mine, John Soborowski, and I went for a drive on break from our job,” he said.

“John was interested — but of course, I wasn’t — in a couple of young ladies standing on the porch. We talked for awhile and then as we left John backed away right up over a stump right here (Connors points to the bottom of the postcard) and tore the bottom of the car up…”

Community newspapers are still a place to share not only our present, but our memories of the past and hope for the future. We invite you to continue to send in your events, your pictures and your story suggestions.