Next week Friday will mark 60 years since closing day of the Seattle World’s Fair! When I look at all of the foods that haven’t been featured here, I find it hard to believe that this is the last product spotlight in the series! While we looked at dairy products before with Darigold, today’s milk manufacturer was once at the height of food research and had its start in Washington State.
If you have been following this series, you may recall the part of the Ore-Ida story where one manufacturer’s decline (Bridgford Company) became an enduring brand’s (Ore-Ida’s and the tater tot’s) start. The history of Carnation Milk began in a very similar fashion.
In 1880s Switzerland, Johann Baptist Meyenberg worked at a condensed milk company. At the time, the accepted method for preserving milk was by adding sugar and making sweetened condensed milk. Meyenberg discovered a method for sterilizing and condensing milk without also sweetening it, but his employer was not interested in this idea.
Meyenberg (eventually known as “Cheese John”) immigrated to the United States and ended up in Washington, where he teamed up with Tom Yerxa and grocer E.A. Stuart to form the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company.
In 1898, the Washington Condensed Milk Company established a milk condensing plant in Kent, Washington, but it went bankrupt within 18 months. The plant and machinery were purchased by the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company, who rolled the first cases of Meyenberg’s invention, then called Carnation Sterilized Cream, off the production line on September 6, 1899. Those 55 cases, made from 5,800 pounds of milk, were the first cases of Carnation evaporated milk.
Meyenberg taught local farmers that high quality evaporated milk could only be made from high quality milk. What was the key to high-quality milk? Happy, or in this case contended, cows.
In 1908, only 5 years after the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company. first turned a profit, Stuart purchased 360 acres of farmland in the Snoqualmie Valley and populated it with Holstein cows. With the goal of increasing milk production, Stuart began a selective breeding program, and established a strict standard of care for his herd. In the main barn hung a sign reading:
“The RULE to be observed in this stable at all times, toward the cattle, young and old, is that of patience and kindness….
Remember that this is the home of mothers. Treat each cow as a mother should be treated. The giving of milk is a function of motherhood; rough treatment lessens the flow. That injures me as well as the cow. Always keep these ideas in mind in dealing with my cattle.”
Treating the cows as mothers also meant that people were not permitted to swear in their presence.
Stuart believed that for maximum milk production, the cows needed to be paired with the finest workers. That winning combination was found in 1921 when milker Carl Gockerell was paired with a cow called Possum Sweetheart. While the average cow produced around 1,500 -1,900 pounds of milk per year in the early 1900s, Gockerell and Possum once produced 37,000! When Possum Sweetheart died, Stuart and Gockerell were both devastated and dedicated a Holstein statue in her honor.
Carnation cows were prized wordwide, and many cows today are their descendants. In the late 1920s, the Carnation farm began experimenting in animal feed. These experiments would eventually contribute to a number of commercial animal foods, including the Friskies brand.
Other products, including ice cream and baby formula, soon joined Carnation’s portfolio. In the 1960s and 70s, Carnation added fat free and 2% evaporated milk to their product line. Carnation brand sweetened condensed milk was added in the 80s.
Carnation remained in the Stuart family until 1985, when the brand was sold to Nestle. In 2008, the original Carnation farm (located in the aptly-named Carnation, Washington) was sold to a nonprofit. Eight years later, the Stuart family started a new nonprofit on the site: Carnation Farms. You can buy produce and other goodies at the farm’s stand. Occasional tours are offered, where visitors can see the barn sign, the Possum Sweetheart statue, and much more.
Carnation ice cream was the “Chosen official ice cream” of the ’62 World’s Fair. Carnation was also an exhibitor in the Hall of Commerce and Industry. You can view a Carnation Milk souvenir from the fair here.
See you next week for the final recipe, and final installment, in the Food Fair series!
thenorthwestpast 