Wrightside Dairy dates back to 1891

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a series of local dairy stories compiled by former Leamington resident Stephen Wuerch, who is a historical researcher of Ontario dairies.

By Stephen Wuerch

WHEATLEY — One of the oldest dairies in Essex and Kent Counties is Wrightside Dairy out of Wheatley.

Due to the scarcity of fresh milk in the village, Joseph R. Wright opened a very small milk business in 1891, selling milk from his farm.

Joseph’s “Yellow Creek Farm” was located on the highway east of Wheatley on Lot 11, north side.

In 1894, following the death of Joseph, George B. Wright took over the family dairy. As the local dairy business continued to grow and prosper, George took over W.H. Willan Milk Company in 1920 and expanded the operation, covering all of Wheatley proper.

With the help of Almer Mellin a few years later, Wrightside Dairy had become well established and — according to a small article in the Wheatley Journal — this absolutely “thrilled all the town folk” because of the need for a reliable and consistent milk source.

Over the years, many in the Wright family continued to be involved in the dairy operation, producing some of the best milk and dairy products in the area.

Family members included brother Thomas and George’s two boys, Joseph “Bill” Wright and George Jr “Jack”. With the help of the entire family, Wrightside Dairy had become one of the premier dairies in Essex/Kent Counties with hundreds of satisfied customers.

In 1939, Bill bought out the business of Balfour Robinson, which was Wrightside’s major local competitor. The dairy business served the Wright family well right up to 1943, at which time, Bill sold the dairy to Reg Willet of Wheatley Dairy.

Milk Production

The raw milk was cooled by pumping cold water from the well into a holding area which surrounded the milk tank.

There were seven pails of milk in the tank at any given time that would be cooling.

As the water started to warm, it was then drained directly into the water troughs where the cattle would drink from. This ingenious cooling system and the recycling of water saved the dairy hundreds of gallons of water each day.

As the milk continued to cool, it was further processed by a separator tank before being bottled and capped by hand.

From 1930-1943, the dairy continued to upgrade its equipment which included the purchase of brush mounted motors to wash the bottles, more sinks, an automatic capper, a larger milk vat and a new modern cooling system.

As the local herd could not produce enough milk at peak demands, Wrightside Dairy also purchased milk from the Robinson, Rempel and Getty family farms.

Milk Delivery

By 1929 Wrightside Dairy was averaging 60 quarts per day with delivery being done every night during the week except Saturday evening.

There were two deliveries on Sunday – early in the morning and again at 7:00 p.m.

Delivery was done by Maude and Doll who pulled both wagon (spring to fall) and sleigh (winter). By 1933, the dairy was now producing 100 quarts per day to meet the increased demand from the community and surrounding area.

As a result of continued growth, in 1937 Bill purchased a new Ford delivery car which not only sped up delivery times, but also allowed for the horses to take much needed breaks. It was nothing to see Bill driving the delivery car with his daughters Luetta, Jean and friend Gordon McClellan standing on the running boards delivering milk to their customers.

Other employees who worked with Bill at the dairy were Vern Smith, Evan Hyatt, Bill Lamb, Jack Wharram and Floyd Sample.

A Few Good Bottles

Wrightside Dairy sold milk and cream in quart, pint and half pint bottles with the quart and pint bottles having Wrightside Dairy embossed on them. Today, Wrightside Milk bottles are highly collectable and very much sought after as only a handful are known to exist.

As Dorothy Bailey (Wright) told me, “When the operation was sold to Wheatley Dairy, we simply went behind the barn and smashed all the bottles against the cement wall. After all, they were of no value now and nobody wanted them.”

For more information on other Essex County and Ontario Dairy history, visit the Ontario Dairy Collectables Facebook page. If you have further information regarding Wrightside Dairy, please email sewuerch@hotmail.com.

Thank you to Dorothy for all your help.