She married the Monett Milkman...

Little did she know that the milkman works just like a United States Postal mailman. Rain, snow, sleet, or shine, he picks up and delivers the milk 365 days a year including holidays. He doesn’t wear a fancy suit or have the latest technology but you can bet, he works hard and is loyal to his producers and processors. He may not make it home at the same time every day for supper or arrive at the children’s ballgame or school program on time, or even make it to church on Sunday but you know he tried. Some days he may want to just quit and trade it all in for a ‘simpler’ way of life but then he looks around and remembers, this is the simpler way. That does not make it easy or always fun but at the end of the day, he knows he did a good job and earned an honest wage to provide for his family.

As the third-generation milkman, the title of “Papa” outweighs them all. When the grandsons became fascinated with trucks, horns, and cows that made it all the better. You see the fourth-generation is all girls and taking on the responsibility of this business is not their choice. In the meantime, the fifth generation has become the milkman’s tag along. Before they were big enough to ‘haul’ milk with Papa Kirk, they learned to make the honking sign with their arm so when the haulers pulled in the lot at the end of the day, they would honk their horns before parking their trucks.

It is without a doubt a pleasure to watch these grandsons follow their Papa’s footsteps from doing chores to working on trucks.

They not only know the trucks but also which hauler is behind the wheel. These boys even have homemade flash cards that help them spot a truck and call it what it is, a Peterbilt, Kenworth, International, Western Star. If you ever want a good chuckle, check out my Facebook page for a video. Maybe the truck thing is just something that comes natural for boys. Nonetheless, their interest and enthusiasm has made their Papa’s heart grow big. But all good things must come to an end and this is true for the milk route that has provided for our family for three generations, starting with Austin Wormington back in the day when milk was hauled in heavy cans and a can truck and going into later years his wife, Helen drove a milk truck with a bulk tank.

The business was then passed down to Tom and Richard Wormington and then to Tom’s sons, Kirk, and Jared. The simplicity of hauling milk to the local processing plant over the years turned in to tanker trucks and long hauls to other states. Small family farms faded away as large corporate dairies became more popular in our country. My ‘real’ job turned into being self employed by Wormington Trucking learning bookkeeping, personnel, and reporting. The pay was not what it once was during my career but the benefits were good enough to allow me to participate in worthwhile projects and be available for family.

This decision to park the trucks after 40 years did not come easy but rather with prayer and planning. We will always be thankful for those folks that made our living a good life. And with humble and grateful hearts we look forward to spending more time with those grandsons, traveling, and seeing how other people choose to live. n