Milk Cart
A few months ago I had an interesting conversation with Susan Matinchek, whose grandfather was Nels Barnett. The conversation focused on a milk delivery wagon once showcased at Old Independence Regional Museum. With the opening of the “A Taste of Community” exhibit, which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, I was interested in the possibility of bringing the wagon back to the museum to introduce the strong ties our community had with the dairy industry. Susan readily agreed to loan us the wagon, but mentioned it “…needed a little work”.
It did not take us long to move the wagon to the storage area at the museum to begin the cleaning process. In the meantime, Danny Dozier has been bringing over several items for our exhibit and helping in many miraculous capacities. I excitedly showed him the wagon and explained how we would hose it down and paint it. Danny ran his fingers delicately across the metal at the front of the wagon and wistfully stated, “It would be a shame to destroy the patina…” Danny volunteered to restore the wagon, and his work, as usual, is top notch. We are extremely excited to present the wagon next month at the exhibit’s grand opening on Tuesday, January 23, 2024.
Susan gave me a short history of the wagon, which began with me asking whether the milk wagon was part of the Mack Farm Dairy operation since the families are linked. “No”, she stated, “it was not a business; it was for our family’s use only.” And then she reeled out the story.
In the 1920s, the Barnett family built a dairy barn, complete with milk cows. The members of the Barnett family who owned the dairy barn milked their cows twice a day, then distributed the milk to their extended family members located on or around Main Street. The Barnett family at that time consisted of at least five households, and the milk was delivered twice a day by the Barnetts’ man-servant. If they had any milk left over after the bottles were delivered, they were distributed to anyone who wanted milk.
Come by for our grand opening on January 23! Members will be able to attend a soft opening the evening of January 18; information pertaining to the ribbon cutting will be mailed, emailed, and/or posted on Facebook. We will see you at the museum!
