Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

C.W. Spear Dairy, Central Street, 1930s

Description

"Operated by Clifton W. Spear and his sons, the C.W. Spear Dairy at 37 Central Street delivered milk and other dairy products to Wakefield and 10 other communities from 1902 to 1970. The operation began with the production of raw cream, soon developing into the production and delivery of fresh milk to local homes. Spear's milk supply came from many local and New Hampshire farms, including the Beebe Farm at Lakeside, as well as the Alfalfa Farm in Topsfield and the W.P. Turner Farm in North Reading. During the 1930s, the Beebe Farm stretched from Main to Vernon to Lowell Streets and its 100 Ashire, Guernsey and Jersey cows produced 500 to 600 quarts of Grade A milk each day. The milk produced at the farm was 'higher in butter fat contents than state requirements.' The C.W. Spear Dairy was the first dairy north of Boston to pasteurize, and later homogenize, its milk. It was heralded as a leader in modernizing and introducing new equipment, including a milk cooler with glass-lined vats, modern bottle washer (where bottles were cleaned, filled and capped without human contact), and glass-lined vats for pasteurizing milk (automatically regulated by thermostat) in the 1930s. A 'modern extension' was added in 1931 to accommodate the pasteurization equipment and the product line was expanded to include cottage cheese, eggs, butter and chocolate syrup. By the 1950s, 15 trucks were on the road, delivering products seven-days-a-week. Sunday deliveries were discontinued in 1964. In 1960, the Spear family opened the Spear Dairy Bar at the corner of Montrose Avenue and Water Street. The C.W. Spear Dairy was sold in 1970 and the building was razed in 1977." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1998

Photo courtesy of Bourdon Studios.

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

1930-1939

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

Wakefield, Mass. : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

C.W. Spear Dairy (Firm)

Dairy plants

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

20 x 24 cm.