Milk and Butter

The milk was sold mostly in East Falls and that was a long way to drive with a horse and wagon. That was where my father's customers were even before he moved to Domino Lane. Most of the cow feed and other supplies were always bought in "Falls of Schuylkill" as it was properly called. This continued until my mother and older brothers took over the job of managing the business. Sometimes Pop would let me drive the wagon and I would feel very important. On Sundays he would always stop at the candy store of one of his customers and buy a bag full of candy to take home for his children.
All milk that was not sold was skimmed of all cream and that cream was churned at the end of the week to make butter. The butter was sold to certain customers who asked for it. It was churned in a barrel shaped container with paddles that had to be turned by hand. This was usually Joe's or my job and sometimes both, as it sometimes took a long time. Of course there was no electricity or power driven equipment at that time.
After the butter was gathered off the buttermilk Mom would always wash it in the cool water of the springhouse to remove the remaining buttermilk and then weigh it and form it into molds of one pound each. Sometimes during the summer when Mom was working in the springhouse we kids would go and get thick slices of homemade bread and take them down and Mom would smear them with the soft homemade butter, just using her fingers. I can still remember how good that tasted.
Other things were often sold from the milk wagon, too. Eggs, vegetables in season and sometimes a stewing or roasting chicken.