Review Century Of Penn State Creamery Milk Bottles DARWIN G. BRAUND, Ph.D. Volunteer Curator Penn State Pasto Agricultural Museum UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) Penn State’s University Creamery is world-famous for its ice cream. This reputation makes it a much-loved landmark for campus visitors and Nittany Lion faithful. Other Creamery items from, years past are less well-known to Penn Staters, but one particular class of objects is eagerly sought by collectors of Penn State para phernalia and a small army of specialized collectors throughout the world. These are glass milk bottles bearing Penn State identi fication. While they may never ap proach the popularity of the Nit tany Lion, the demand for the once common Penn State glass milk bottles has escalated in re cent years and so has the price. Dollars paid for some individual Penn State milk bottles in excel lent condition could buy several hundred of today’s Creamery ice cream cones. The story of Penn State Creamery glass milk bottles be gins nearly a century ago. When die Patterson Building was con structed in 1904, the creamery lo cated there began bottling milk in glass bottles. Those first bottles didn’t even include the words “Penn State.” Instead they were labeled “State College Dairy” in raised letters. That’s all no other information was on the bot tle. The first College Creamery delivery wagon for retail custom ers was identified with “State College Dairy” on the side panels and was drawn by one horse. This first Creamery milk bottle was mouth-blown, having been made before the final develop ment of the automatic bottle making machine. It is apparently a quart in size, although there is no capacity indicated. Size identi fication was not needed until a 1907 law required milk or cream bottles or glass jars to be for con sumers to have the capacity per manently blown into them during manufacture. Patented September 17, 1889, by Thatcher Manufacturing Company as the celebrated The third pyro design featured war slogans dur ing World War il. The bottle shape had also changed from “tail round” to “squat round,“ which resembled a bowling pin. Those first bottles didn’t even include the words “Penn State.” Instead they were labeled “State College Dairy” in raised letters. “Common Sense Milk Jar,” the first Penn State Creamery bottle used “ligneous disks” more commonly known as paper caps. Although three “State College Dairy” bottles are known to exist, the one pictured from the au thor’s collection is the only one that shows the manufacturer’s mark and patent date on the bot tom. The other two show the trade mark “Bestov,” a jobber (middleman) of bottles in the early 1900 s. They also say “To Be Washed and Returned,” on the side, a slogan not on the author’s bottle. It is thought the Creamery started with bottles supplied di rectly by Thatcher, then changed to Bestov as a jobber. From 1904 until retail milk sales were discontinued in 1958, only two manufacturers supplied most of the glass milk bottles for the Creamery. These were Thatcher Manufacturing Compa ny with a plant in Elmira, N.Y., and Owens-Illinois Glass Compa ny with a plant in Clarion. This information should be helpful to collectors of Creamery milk bottles. For example the au thor owns a half-pint bottle la beled only “State College.” When purchased the seller was certain it meant “Penn State College” and priced it accordingly. How ever, the author later determined / \ n W \ -v r* \ The label wasn’t the only thing that changed in 1953. A two-quart (half-gallon) size was added, and, for the first time, col lectors looking for a complete set of Uni versity Creamery milk bottles needed four (two quart, quart, pint, and half-pint) in stead of the traditional three. A completely different logo “P.S.C. Dairy Bam” inside a circle was also used from the early 1920 s into the late 19405. that the Florida Glass Company in Jacksonville, Florida, manu factured this bottle. It’s highly doubtful that any Penn State milk bottles would have been shipped such a long distance be cause of transportation costs. In the early days of land-grant insti tutions like Penn State, several states had state colleges. Let the buyer beware! Around 1918, the bottle logo was changed to “State College Creamery” with block letters em bossed inside a circle. Capacity was embossed above the logo. An unusual characteristic of these bottles, which were used until about 1929, was the heavy, raised ribs on the neck of each size (quart, pint, and half-pint). The raised ribs provided a better grip for the deliverymen who carried the heavy, cold bottles in the early morning darkness. The ribs also provided a method of identi fication by touch in the darkness so a deliveryman could differenti ate his bottles from those of a competitor. At least one patent was granted for this rib innova tion. These “State College Creamery” bottles in the late teens and 1920 s were made by Thatcher Manufacturing Compa ny. “State College Creamery” in The 2000 edition has a generic barn scene in blue and green. All subsequent editions have continued with the blue and green color. The second edition in 2001 carries a drawing of the Penn State Agri cultural Arena. For the 2002 third edition, none other than the University Creamery is depicted. The “old” Penn State Dairy Barns adorn the fourth edition issued in 2003. \ l c An unsolved mystery surrounds the square Creamery bottles used in the early 19505. Some have the college seal inside the Keystone, while on others the college seal is missing from an empty Keystone. block letters continued as the logo into the early 19305, al though smooth-neck bottles were used. What happened to the ribbed bottles? Apparently, the purchaser of Creamery milk bot tles decided to try smooth-neck bottles. The quart and pint bot tles were made by the Bemey- Bond Glass Company of Clarion. The half-pint shows the mark of the Winslow Glass Company of Columbus, Ohio. Winslow was purchased by Berney-Bond in 1927. In 1930, the young Owens- Illinois Glass Company pur chased Bemey-Bond. The ribbed necks didn’t appear again on Creamery milk bottles. A completely different logo “P.S.C. Dairy Bam” inside a cir cle was also used concurrently from the early 1920 s into the late 19405. These bottles were filled in the milk house attached to the dairy bams and used only for milk sent to the campus dining halls and the sandwich shop lo cated in the Old Main basement. They were made by Thatcher Manufacturing Company and did not appear on off-campus de livery routes. Professor Emeritus Donald L. Ace started working in the barns as a freshman during fall semes- A picture of Old Main with the pre-1929 tower appears in the center of the above phrase, and Old Main appeared on Penn State milk bottles for the rest of their existence. However, this was the only bottle that ever carried the pre-1929 “old” Old Main bell tower. These bottles (quart, pint, and half-pint) in the author’s collection are the only ones known to exist and the only Creamery milk bottles that ever carried advertising. On the opposite side (panel) was the slogan “Use Col lege Ice Cream For All Oc casions.” ter 1941. Among other chores, he “cashed thousands of those P.S.C. Dairy Bam bottles.” He remembers that milk produced in excess of campus dining hall needs was sent across the street to the Creamery in Borland Lab oratory. In 1932, Borland Laboratory was completed. Both the Creamery and the dairy depart ment moved from Patterson Building to the new facility. This historic occasion apparently initi ated two new milk bottle logos, which replaced previous bottle designs. The fourth bottle logo, which appeared about 1932, was dramatically different from pred ecessors. It had the Pennsylvania Keystone with The Pennsylvania State College Seal in the center embossed on the bottom half of each bottle. “State College Creamery” was embossed on the shoulder above this in Old Eng lish letters. This design was the only one to be embossed on the front and back of each bottle. These were used through the mid-1930s and were made by Owens-Illinois Glass Company, who continued as the only manu facturer of Creamery bottles through 1958. Also around this time a fifth bottle logo appeared. Embossed in a round circle on one side only was “P.S.C. Dairy Dept. State College, Pa.” These bottles were used for about a 10-year period through 1943. Around 1940, the top of this bottle was changed to accommo date the “Dacro Top.” The inside cap seat was eliminated, and an airtight, tamper-proof metal cap was securely locked in place over the top of the bottle. Apparently, (Turn to Page 822)
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