It looks like it, backed to that open door. On second thought, it’s a bit off to the side, and it’s hard to imagine a Divco still in service. Johnh875 posted this shot at the Cohort, and since there’s some Straus Creamery butter in our fridge, I decided to do a bit of googling. They’re in Petaluma, CA., and the first organically-certified dairy in the West. Their butter is very good. And they have good taste in milk trucks.
The Divco story needs to be told here sometime. In the past, when milk was largely delivered directly to one’s house, Divco curbside milk delivery trucks were ubiquitous. Now they’re a hot collectable.
A large Washington, DC-area dry cleaner company used these trucks as delivery vehicles until recently. They may still use them, although I have not seen one in years. If I see one, I will make sure to photograph it!
We’re selling my 92 years old mother in law’s house and there’s still a milk box on the front porch. Probably 40 years — more? — since last used. i’d love to see a Divco pull up front and deliver.
“A large Washington, DC-area dry cleaner company “… is that Bergman’s? I cannot recall the last time I saw one on the road.
My sister still has our old milkbox. I remember when we quit home delivery, as my mom was trying to economize. A small older bald man in his white uniform and black bow tie drove up in one of these. He came to the door and asked for my mother. When she came to the door, he asked in an almost pleading tone of voice “Mrs. Cavanaugh, what did we do wrong?” I felt terrible.
There was/is a Bergman’s plant just off 606 on Ariane Way in Dulles, VA. They run a well-worn fleet of Ford Econolines in a terrible shade of purple.
Bergman’s got rid of the Divcos sometime around 97, not sure if it was all of them or only most. They were all a special model, the 200A, and all from the early 60s. They told us they had some newer ones that didn’t last long, as whatever company bought Divco in the late 60’s began cheaping out the materials and never replaced the tooling, which is why they ran these so long.
I remember and know this because my dad bought a lot of them from Bergman. They were something like $500 a piece, and he painted them up and took them to the big Divco show in Hershey. He also rented them to period movies in the area and made all the money back.
Here’s one of them http://www.flickr.com/photos/37640374@N04/4473593801/
Remarkable coincidence that someone with a personal connection to those Bergman’s trucks happened to read this post, Matt A! I think that some of Bergman’s Divcos lasted beyond 1997, because I used to live near Bergman’s location in Rosslyn on Route 29, and I recall seeing Divcos in use there until the early 2000s. They definitely have all disappeared since I moved away from there in 2005. I may be recalling incorrectly, though, as I also moved away temporarily in 1996-1999, and the disappearance of the Divcos may have occurred during that time.
Straus Dairy still uses glass bottles too! Delivery seems to be available around the Bay Area.
http://strausfamilycreamery.com/contact/dairy-home-delivery
Summertime memories…………. as a kid I would get a piece of ice from my grandmother’s milkman on hot summer days when he pulled up in his Divco.
That was their refrigeration.
Back in the ’50s, my buddies and me would sit on the curb on hot summer days waiting for the Quality Dairy and Sealtest Dairy Divcos coming up the street.
The milkmen would always stop and give us each one large, clear hunk of ice, where we proceeded to sit back on the curb and work on that chunk, the melting ice making muddy streaks down our chests, as we were shirtless and by that time of day, pretty dirty!
Later, as teenagers, a buddy and I wondered what it would be like to drive one, as they sure were cool looking.
Christiansen’s in North Providence, Rhode Island still uses Divcos, glass bottles, and milk boxes!
This “Divrolet” showed up in a custom car show outside the Portland Art Museum in August, 2011.
One of my brothers told his daughters about milk being delivered to the door in a truck. The kids rolled their eyes and said “pull the other one”.
They probably wouldn’t believe that prior to the trucks they used to have automated, self-guided vehicles – a.k.a. horse & cart!
I remember seeing that as a child. It was actually more efficient than a truck in the delivery mode. The milkman didn’t have to double back to the wagon. It would meet him at the curb when he ran out of bottles in his wire rack carrier. The trip back to the dairy was probably longer though.
The there was the rag & bone man with his cart.
I think thats why they were still using horse drawn wagons to deliver milk in Kawerau as late as 1988 when we moved to the country.
When I was a kid our milk was delivered in glass bottles by a fellow named Oscar, driving a green and yellow Chevy Step-Van. If it was a hot day he would sometimes come in and have a quick beer with my dad. I’ve only seen a few Divcos in my life, and I grew up close to Detroit. The milk trucks in our area were all Chevy or GMC. By the mid Seventies the local dairy was bought out by Silverwood’s and there was no more home delivery. As I recall, Oscar started driving a bread truck instead. I miss the glass bottles.
Long time reader…first time commenter! Take a look at the hammonds candy store in Denver Colorado. They have a similar truck in as a rolling billboard and parked in front of their factory.
Nice. My favorite delivery vehicles: Divco and Metro.
I worked for a milk vendor from 1995-2001. We did commercial deliveries during the day and household deliveries from 4-9pm Monday-Saturday. I’d drive and we’d have one or two kids on the back leaping off to pop the deliveries into the letterboxes. Customers had the choice of plastic bottles (1L and 2L), tetra cartons (1L) and plastic sachets (1L). In 1996 we re-introduced glass bottles (600ml) to great effect. Our milk truck wasn’t nearly as interesting as the Divco though! Ours was a 1994 Ford Trader, 3.5L diesel, running on a 6-tonne sticker weight. My wages weren’t great, but after 16 years non-stop at school and university, I just needed to do something a bit physical and completely unacademic, and it fit the bill. I loved it, and even today, it’s still the most fun job I’ve had. Good times…!