Traditions have come and gone across the decades, with some norms outright disappearing. But one dairy farm in Indiana, Kuehnert Dairy Farm, is set on bringing the milkman back to the neighborhood after an old-fashioned initiative of theirs was met with such a warm reception earlier this year
Low accessibility to reliable refrigeration made milk deliverers—who devotedly traced their paths called milk routes or milk runs—a necessity around the country. Better and more widespread refrigerators made the service nearly obsolete, and even related household features changed as the profession died out. But Kuehnert Dairy Farm, which has seen milk delivery change across decades, is here to bring back some familiar, nostalgic traditions.
Kuehnert Dairy Farm is bringing the milkman back to town
Kuehnert Dairy Farm has been around for a while to see the milkman become a part of American culture, providing refreshing nutritious dairy to households everywhere for years. In fact, the dairy farm has been in business for no less than six generations. The events the farm hosts have become a staple in the community and now Andrew Kuehnert wants to extend that right to their patrons’ front doors.
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“We want to make our milk from our house to your house,” announced Kuehnert, “and that is ultimately what we want to do with this delivery route.”
That route comprises of the “old-fashioned approach” of bringing the milkman back to deliver milk, cheese, butter, and the like to people’s doors.
Changing back to something familiar
Milk deliveries were so commonplace that they were actually factored into a house’s architecture, with milk doors providing safe ways for the milkman to hand over his delivery. Kuehnert Dairy Farm has long been dedicated to upholding the traditional, most recently through the Kuehnert Milk House, which offers patrons a variety of milk flavors served in glass bottles. Those bottles can then be brought back and exchanged for store credit, as part of the family’s dedication to not only provide quality dairy products but keep things sustainable and environmentally friendly.
The Milk House received a warm reception, which made things loud and clear for the family. “We’ve had great reception from the public saying, ‘We would really enjoy having that at our doorstep,'” said Kuehnert.
By time of writing, the dairy farm hopes to get operations up and running within the next three months, with customers able to place orders online, adding a modern twist to a very familiar tradition that was due for a comeback.
