Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

Jewish Dairies

Two recent communications led to Steven David Weiss, also went into the he this Looking Back. I had a converdairy business. There was a clue that sation with Al Must, former pressuggested that United Dairies may have ve ident of Dairy Fresh Foods, that was a been sold to Detroit-area Twin Pines quick lesson about the dairy business, and Dairy sometime around 1990, but I Daniel Szymanski wrote am not really sure if this is accurate. seeking information about Dairy Fresh also had a long history y United Dairies, where his in Detroit. An excellent feature story grandfather worked and his on the company and its owners, father, George, was producthe Must family, can be found in tion manager. the Dec. 11, 2008, issue of the JN. The ee

Mike Smith Alene and Graham Landau So, I decided to see what I could find about company was founded as the Detroit City Dairy by Abraham Must in the

Archivist Chair these two companies in 1930s. the William Davidson The three generations that folDigital Archive of Jewish Detroit History. lowed Max continued to own and In short, both United Dairies and Dairy manage the business until it was sold Fresh were Jewish-owned and created in 2017. His son, Mike, took over the nearly a century ago. Both companies company in the 1940s; his wife, Mary, y, also featured generations of family worked there for nearly 70 years. members as owners and chief operating Mike’s sons, Alan and Joel, became officers. co-presidents, and Jay represented the e

United Dairies was founded in 1929. fourth generation. Along the way, the I found 643 pages in the Archive that Detroit City Dairy was renamed Dairy y mentioned United Dairies, largely adverFresh in the 1990s. tisements, especially abundant in Jewish Both dairies and families were gen- Chronicle and JN, 1930-1970, but did not erous supporters of Detroit Jewish find a company history. However, I was organizations. United Dairies sponsored red able to glean a few facts. such programs as Israel Bond Drives,

United Dairies was originally foundyouth bowling leagues, and the “Voice ed and owned by 20 Jewish dairy truck of the Jewish Welfare Fund” on WJLB drivers; hence, the “United” in United radio. Dairy Fresh sponsored the Israel Dairies. Four of the original owners were Emergency Fund, as well as Kadima, Edwin Gornbein, Morris Gurevitch, Hebrew Free Loan and other good causes. s. Israel Sokanoff and Max Weiss. It seems The history of the United Dairies and that Gurevitch was also president of the Dairy Fresh, a.k.a. Detroit City Dairy, that t company at one time. I did find was fascinating. It was a fun

The Weiss family was most closely search. Of course, there may have been associated with United Dairies. Max other Jewish-owned dairies in Metro Weiss was general manager of the firm Detroit, so another adventure in the from 1932-1949. His wife, Julie, who lived Davidson Archive might await. to 100 years old, was also on the United Dairies board and a company officer. His Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation son, Albert “Sonny” Weiss, a veteran of archives, available free at www.djnfoundation.org. the famous Battle of the Bulge during World War II, also worked at United CORRECTION: Dairies. His obituary cites him as the My column on Checker Cabs should owner of United Dairies. Max’s grandson, have cited Doug Gorenstein, not David.