The Milk Hauler

The snow storms of late here in Northern Wisconsin have stirred memories of big red trucks with steel plows and tire chains...... and little red snowsuits with fur collars and tightly knit red mittens. I've drifted back to the early 1950's when the milk hauler was probably the first vehicle many a farmer would see coming down the driveway after a blizzard had dumped five feet of snow. The cow's warm and creamy milk awaited in heavy steel cans for the milk hauler to transport it to the creamery.
The front end buckets on tractors that most farmers used to clear their long driveways would take days to clear all the snow, so milk haulers trucks were usually equipped with big steel plows for the job. Before the sun rose and  well into the dark of night the milk haulers made their rounds picking up the cans of milk. While breaking open the dirt roads and driveways some would take precious time to make a round or two in the farmer's yard between the house and barn.
I know my Dad was appreciated and loved by those farmers back then. He saved them many an hour and cleared the drifting roads besides. Around Christmas time I remember a plate of cookies and maybe  a brand new pair of leather gloves being rushed out the door down to the milk house where Dad was lifting the heavy steel cans dripping and steaming from the cement troughs. Sometimes a farmer would bring out a bottle of home made wine and beg Dad to have a sip to bring a little cheer to help him tough out his long and hard journey to the remaining farms on his route.
The work was grueling and tough but  Dad knew how much those farmers depended on him. The sight of that pretty red truck with the plow throwing snow ten feet high and roaring down the driveway meant they could get their cars and trucks to town for groceries and to the feed mill. There was always a smile and a good solid handshake for the milk hauler. And at Christmas time some candy for his five kids who  were waiting at home.