5 minute read
A Giant Milk Bottle… It Does a City Good
Words by Terry Ommen
Many towns have landmarks. Santa Cruz has its boardwalk, Anaheim has Disneyland, and New York City has the Statue of Liberty. Visalia once had a famous landmark too—a huge water tank in the shape of a milk bottle that stood over 60 feet in the air. It remained for decades, advertising the Hyde Ranch Dairy and served as a welcome greeting to visitors coming to Visalia. Though it’s been gone for over 60 years, many longtime Visalians still remember the massive milk bottle and its lore. Since then, Visalia has grown much larger; the town’s newcomers who have never seen it deserve to know about this iconic structure’s story and the business it represented.
In 1923, Richard E. Hyde, a member of the pioneer Hyde family, started the Hyde Ranch Dairy just outside of the Visalia city limits on the west edge of town. He brought in John G. Jones as ranch manager who supervised the milk plant and the employees. When opened, the modern milk operation captured the attention of both the public and local media. The Visalia Morning Delta was so impressed with the new business that on April 29, 1923, the newspaper devoted a huge amount of space with photographs calling it a standout for Tulare County.
The 400-acre dairy started off with 50 cows, made up of Jerseys, Durhams, Guernseys, and Holsteins with immediate plans to increase the herd. All the milking was done by hand, but an order for electric DeLaval milking machines was arriving soon. The dairy operation was state-of-the-art using the latest refrigeration and sanitation equipment.
Sanitation considerations for the dairy took on special importance. Showers were provided for the workers with wash basins installed throughout the building. A water system was installed over the doors so as cows entered the shed, they would be cleaned, and the flies would be washed away. Another water system would wash the floor before and after milking, and the waste would be flushed into a septic tank.
A machine sterilized the bottles. A refrigeration unit would keep the milk cold and would also make about 400 pounds of ice daily.
The dairy proudly advertised that their milk came from healthy tuberculin-tested cows.
Hyde’s attention to detail even included the dairy yard where he planted trees and colorful flowers. He believed that these improvements “inspired a pride in work…producing better workmanship and better milk.” One of his early slogans proudly proclaimed, “You can whip our cream but you can’t beat our milk.”
Customer service began on May 1, 1923, with morning and afternoon milk delivery. Ice cold bottles of milk selling for 12 cents a quart arrived in special trucks packed with the ice made by the refrigeration equipment. The milk was advertised as “pure rich raw milk,” not pasteurized because according to Hyde, the process removes some “health giving properties.” Although soon after opening, he offered pasteurized milk as an option.
But even though Hyde had opened a model dairy, he was not finished. Less than three years later, he added something that clearly separated him from other dairies—a water tank in the shape of a huge replica milk bottle. In August 1926, it was put in place and on August 29th, the Delta was there to report on it.
Credit for the idea of the giant milk bottle goes to Hyde, with help from his trusted ranch manager Jones. The huge replica milk bottle that would serve as a water tank wasn’t available to simply purchase—the two men realized they’d need to have one custom made. Hyde contacted Isaac Clark, the owner of Visalia Plumbing Co. who asked C.B. Porter to design and build one. For eight days in August 1926, two workers constructed the 21½-foot, 16-gauge galvanized steel bottle. The job required 2,500 rivets and significant solder. Without air conditioning, the two metalworkers often worked in heat reaching 122 degrees and sometimes had to work inside the bottle itself, where the air was likely considerably hotter.
When the bottle was finished, it was an exact, proportional replica of a quart size milk bottle. It could hold 5,800 gallons of water, and when empty, it weighed slightly over one ton. Visalia painter Van Olson gave it a coat of paint. The bottle was hauled from Visalia Plumbing to the dairy by Jack & Jeff Transfer Co. using their largest truck. T.T. Godsey, a Visalia building contractor, hoisted the big bottle to the top of the 40-foot wooden tower he had built.
Once mounted, the Delta declared it to be the “greatest milk bottle in the world,” although it was never designed to hold milk. The dairy operation itself was not dependent upon the unique water tank for its dairy operation at all. It was merely a backup supply in case other water systems failed.
From 1926 to 1956, Hyde Dairy served its customers from this location. When it ceased operations, the buildings were demolished, and on February 5, 1964, the giant bottle came down. What happened to it remains a mystery. Though it’s possible it still exists in one piece, it was more likely cut up as scrap and recycled.
Before it was taken down, the unique water tower was said to be used as a visual landmark for airplane pilots who trained at Sequoia Field north of Visalia during World War II.
The Hyde Dairy is gone, but it stood near what is now Campus Ave. and County Center Drive.
For many years the iconic landmark served as an advertising sign for the dairy, and a welcome greeting for visitors—but now exists only as local lore for longtime residents.
