One hundred years ago, Ben Smith began peddling milk to his neighbors for extra cash. Carrying bottles of milk from his Jersey-Durham cow, he walked door to door every day that summer. Eventually, saving up enough of his earnings to buy his first car: a Ford Model T.
Ben grew up on his grandfather's farm in Minnesota. That's where he first learned how to milk a cow. At ten years old, he'd get up before dawn to milk the cows, and once more before bed. He spent the rest of his day helping run the family farm with endless chores - from working in the fields to herding cattle.
Meanwhile, Ben had relatives in Washington, including his brother, Roy. The family members out west would send letters describing how wonderful this part of the country was, with its mild winters and dry summers. The Pacific Northwest was calling, but it would still be some years before Ben, his mom, and five siblings finally boarded a train for their new home in Seattle.
Twelve years after arriving in Washington, Ben built a home in the Arbor Heights neighborhood of West Seattle. It was there that his neighbors sold him their cow and had the idea of selling milk. With the cow producing seven gallons of rich milk each day, there was always plenty of extra.
And so, he'd load up his Ford Model T with quart-sized glass bottles and drive through town, providing fresh milk to his neighbors. When he wasn't going door to door, he was working in the steel mills. But he still had dreams of turning his milk operation into something full time.
In the fall of 1920, Roy shared with him an advertisement about a West Seattle retail dairy for sale. For $3,800 the dairy could be theirs, along with a 50 gallon-a-day milk route, a Dodge truck, and 18 cows. He didn’t need much convincing.
The brothers each pitched in to buy the dairy, and the two were officially in business.
