A note from from Mayor Brian Turnbull...


** NORTHVILLIANS,
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Happy Summer! I trust and hope you will all relax, enjoy the warmth in these coming months, and take some much-needed respite after sixteen LONG months battling this pandemic. Summer months in Northville historically have meant ice cream at local stores. Notably, Henry Ford was known to stop in for a cone at times, and he had a reputation as a big tipper at Cloverdale where Rebecca’s is today. You may even be surprised where some of the local dairies started and where they ended up.

But before we delve into Dairies & Ice Cream in Town over time, let’s take a quick look at County & State updates:
* Gov. Whitmer, on July 6^th, announced that more than one million Michiganders have entered the MI Shot to Win Sweepstakes, a lottery-style raffle that gives vaccinated Michiganders a chance to win more than $5 million in cash and a combined total of nearly $500,000 in college scholarships. The MI Shot to Win Sweepstakes also includes thirty Daily Drawing prizes worth $50,000 for those who get their first dose during the sweepstakes. (Michigan.gov)
* Gov. Whitmer signed House Bill 4421, which appropriates $4.4 billion in federal COVID relief funding to support schools across the state, helping students, teachers, & schools recover from the pandemic. The education funding represents the bipartisan work completed in late June to ensure that Michigan’s K-12 education system takes advantage of federal funding to make unprecedented investments in our schools. (Michigan.gov)

COVID-19 CONFIRMED CASES: Northville has had 261 cases/8 fatalities, Township 2230/51, Michigan 1.0M/21K, Nation 34M/612K, Global 187M/4.0M. (CDC.com)
Now let’s take a look at the Dairies and Ice Cream Companies in Town through the years…
* In 1833 Charles Rogers (Rogers St.), having successfully experimented with a machine for condensing milk, erected a plant in Orchard Heights at 7 Mile & Eaton Drive where he also produced Ice Cream. He had a patent for refining the process for condensed milk. The Rogers Family built the Mansion on 9 Mile which is known as Shiro’s Restaurant today. Later, Rogers sold his company to Gov. Warner of Farmington. Rogers’ brand was “Globe Condensed Milk” in honor of the largest furniture factory in the country called Globe, then located right here in The Ville.
* A book published in 1892 named Northville: The Ideal Suburban Village said this area was perfect for dairies, with the finest cows feeding on sweet clover fields and watered by all the natural springs in town.
* After Carmi Benton (Cass Benton Park) finished his days driving the last horse-drawn milk wagon, the Miller dairy began delivering with their Model T truck. Several other home-owned creameries existed in Northville in the late 1920’s, including the Lloyd Morse dairy at Center & Lake.
* There were several Typhoid fever cases in town during 1927, spread unintentionally from Don Miller’s non-pasteurized milk according to a 1973 Northville Record article. Two locals who were hospitalized from the illness were Don Yerkes and Cliff Turnbull (my grandfather).
* In 1931, there were still five dairies in town: Werve’s on Beck, Red Rose at Cady & Center, Lloyd Morse at Dunlap & Center and Miller on 6 Mile, along with Grennan’s.
* During the 1930’s, Mr. Grennan of the Presbyterian Church in Northville sold his dairy and Grennan Cake Company (on 6 Mile) for a reported $1 million dollars (almost $20 Million today). He started the Farm Crest dairy & bakery shortly thereafter; he had cows, ice cream and bakery goods.
* Cloverdale (where Rebecca’s is today) was one of eight outlets for Cloverdale Farms & dairy/ice cream stores still in operation in 1969, according to the Centennial Edition of the Northville Record that year.
* John McGuire (Guernsey Farms dairy) bought the old Red Rose dairy on 125 Center St. in 1945, and Guernsey’s has been in the family ever since. Guernsey moved to its recently renovated facilities on Novi Road in 1965, where one of Michigan’s (and America’s) finest oak trees still stands out front.
* Ice Cream from all these dairies was served in establishments throughout town from Amblers Hotel to Paul’s Sweet Shop on Main (General Store in Mill Race Village), Cloverdale’s and Rogers Dairy. Drug stores like Horton’s Rexall and the Murdock Brothers had ice cream parlors with fountain drinks & floats in the early 1900s.
* Historically after parades in town, Guernsey and other businesses (Northville Labs/Casterlines) sponsored ice cream treats for everyone after the events.
* The Detroit House of Correction (DeHoCo Prison) on 5 Mile had 160 head of cows for over 50 years and a dairy on the premise that sold their excess production. In fact, Maybury Sanatorium (Maybury State Park), along with Wayne County Training Center (on Sheldon), had dairies with hundreds of cows and ran their own farms to feed their residents. They also sold their products in the community.

As you can see, ice cream and dairies have been part of Northville History almost since its beginnings. I encourage you to grab a cone or a cup at Rebecca’s historic location, Guernsey’s family-run restaurant, Jim Roth’s Custard Time (50 years strong), the acclaimed Brown Dog and others that have popped up through the years.

Have a soft-serve or an old-fashioned double decker cone in one of the many Northville ice cream spots and, when you do, think about the history that came before. Enjoy the summer and a frozen sweet treat today.

Keep that Northville Summer Faith!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
[email protected] / 248.505.6849
(Reach out to me anytime or forward this communication to others interested.)

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The Committee to Elect Brian Turnbull for Mayor . 361 Eaton Dr . Northville, MI 48167-1307 . USA

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