Milkmen memories

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. — Among 100-year-old LeRoy Quernemoen’s possessions are milk bottles with a carrying case; model milk trucks; hats; and a green scrapbook with pictures, receipts and memorabilia from his 40-year career delivering milk in his hometown.

“I got a lot of exercise in going up and down the steps of my milk truck all those years,” Quernemoen said. “I still drink a lot of milk; I think that is part of the reason I am still here.”

Quernomoen, owner of Quernemoen Dairy Service, hauled Cass-Clay Creamery milk door to door in Fergus Falls from 1946 until 1986. Gordy Nelson also hauled Cass-Clay Creamery dairy products to homes, grocery stores and restaurants in Fergus Falls from 1967 until 1995.

Now, both reside at the same assisted living community in Fergus Falls.

“LeRoy and I both worked out of the same cooler,” Nelson said. “LeRoy bought Cass-Clay products for his own business, but I worked directly for Cass-Clay.”

Both men drove yellow and green Divco trucks, and Quernemoen said his first truck was not refrigerated.

“I would have to load blocks of ice in the truck each day to keep the milk cold,” Quernemoen said. “I paid around $2,500 for my first refrigerated truck. Later on, trucks cost about $5,000.”

Dealing with the elements was a major part of the job when working on the road, Quernemoen and Nelson said.

“One day after a blizzard, I couldn’t get my truck out of the garage, so I delivered the first half of my route with my snowmobile and a trailer,” Quernemoen said. “There was another time, I hired a young driver for north of Fergus. He went into the ditch and rolled my truck by a lake.”

Now that Quernemoen and Nelson see each other regularly, they often share tales of their time working together all those years ago.

“A job like that is always on your mind,” Nelson said. “If I knew it was going to get really cold overnight, I would go in and load up my truck and lift up all the containers so they wouldn’t freeze to the metal floor because I had paper cartons.”

Quernomoen grew up on a dairy farm milking 12 Guernsey cows near Fergus Falls. His father was the one who started Quernemoen Dairy Service, delivering bottled milk to area homes. By the time Quernemoen could drive, he started helping his dad with the delivery route in addition to milking the cows and going to school.

“I would deliver milk before I went to school in the morning,” Quernemoen said. “I was used to getting up at 4:30 in the morning to milk the cows before I went to school. I was a milk man for many years.”

Quernemoen took over the delivery business from his father and later passed the business on to his son, Brian. Brian operated it until 2008. The Quernemoens delivered eggs, cheese, butter and other dairy products in addition to milk.

“I had 1,200 stops on my route, mostly homes here in Fergus Falls,” Quernemoen said. “I would start at 4:30 in the morning and would get done around 2, go home, take a nap and then come back after supper and load my truck up for the next day.”

Before taking over the family business, Quernemoen served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946.

During his career, Quernemoen got to know his families quite well.

“I became good friends with many of the people I would deliver milk to,” Quernemoen said. “Nobody locked their doors back then, so sometimes I would walk right in their homes and put the milk in the fridge.
Sometimes they would leave treats out for me. Some people had milk boxes outside, which were metal boxes with a lid that I would put the milk and other dairy products inside to be protected from the elements.”

Nelson grew up on a farm with an array of animals, including two cows, chickens and a Shetland pony. Nelson started out driving a truck delivering bread in northern Minnesota until he saw a help-wanted ad in the newspaper for delivering milk in Fergus Falls.

“I thought that would be a nice way to get back to Fergus Falls; then I wouldn’t have to drive as far, since I am from Fergus,” Nelson said.

Nelson would get up between 5 and 6 a.m. and deliver to the south side of town. The night before, the Cass-Clay Creamery truck brought him the products he had ordered from Fargo, North Dakota. The following morning, Nelson filled his truck and started his route.

“When I first started handling those cases of milk, our uniforms were white, but you can imagine how long they stayed white,” Nelson said.

Decades after retiring, the two men have connected once again, sharing their dairy chronicles.