1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,640 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're talking about 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: a revolutionary product that extended the shelf life of milk 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:35,000 Speaker 1: without the aid of preservatives. The day was September sixth, 7 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety nine. Carnation evaporated milk was produced for the 8 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: first time in Kent, Washington. If you're unfamiliar with the product, 9 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: it's essentially the same as regular fresh milk, but with 10 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: about sixty percent less water. Most of the milk's water 11 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 1: content is removed through heating, then what's left behind is homogenized, canned, 12 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: and sterilized. This process makes evaporated milk shelf stable for months, 13 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 1: if not years, and without affecting its nutritional content. And 14 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: best of all, when it's mixed with water, it returns 15 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: to the same taste and consistency as fresh milk. More 16 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,200 Speaker 1: or less. The product's versatility and longevity made it a 17 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,200 Speaker 1: popular alternative to fresh milk, especially in the early decades 18 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century, before home refrigeration became the norm. Today, 19 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: Evaporated milk is mostly used as a cooking ingredient, popping 20 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: up in both savory dishes and desserts, but in places 21 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: and situations where refrigeration isn't an option, it still makes 22 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 1: a great stand in for its more perishable cousin. The 23 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: commercial process of evaporating milk was still relatively new in 24 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: the late eighteen hundreds, and because sterilization methods were not 25 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: yet well known, the best way to preserve the milk 26 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: for distribution was by adding sugar. The resulting product was 27 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: called condensed milk, and it was only available sweetened as 28 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 1: a matter of necessity. That began to change in the 29 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,720 Speaker 1: eighteen eighties when Swiss dairyman Johann Meyenberg discovered a way 30 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: to sterilize milk with high heat, eliminating the need to 31 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:24,399 Speaker 1: sweeten it. Meyenberg worked at a condensed milk plant in Switzerland, 32 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 1: but his employer wasn't interested in his idea, so he 33 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,680 Speaker 1: immigrated to the United States and patented the process himself. 34 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: Meyenberg eventually made his way to the dairy rich region 35 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: of Washington State, where he teamed up with a pair 36 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: of Seattle grocers named Elbridge Amos Stewart and Tom Yerksa. 37 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: The pair had recently formed the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk 38 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: Company with the goal of creating a safer milk product. 39 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: The only problem was Stuart and Yerksa had no idea 40 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: how to evaporate milk. For that crucial part of the business, 41 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: they relied on the expertise of Johann Meyenberg, or, as 42 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: he came to be nicknamed Cheese John. Before production was 43 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: up and running, the trio ran the business out of 44 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,360 Speaker 1: an abandoned hotel in the city of Kent, but they 45 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: were quickly able to upgrade after learning about another milk operation, 46 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: the Washington Condensed Milk Company, that was about to go bankrupt. 47 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: E A. Stewart later gave an account of those early 48 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: days of the company, writing, quote, we located at a 49 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: small plant at Kent, Washington, which had been established for 50 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: the processing of sweetened condensed milk. The company had failed 51 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: and the machinery and equipment were bought at sheriff's sale 52 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: by the First National Bank of Helena, Montana. We purchased 53 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 1: the equipment for the sum of five thousand dollars and 54 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: rented the realty. We had to reassemble the machinery and 55 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: make certain additions so as to adapt it to the 56 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,960 Speaker 1: processing of evaporated milk. While we were preparing the plant 57 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: for operation, we employed a high class Swiss dairyman nicknamed 58 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: cheese John, who worked with the local dairymen, educating them 59 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: as to the method of producing a high quality fresh 60 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,239 Speaker 1: milk so that we could produce a high quality evaporated milk. 61 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 1: On the sixth of September eighteen ninety nine, we received 62 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: about fifty eight hundred pounds of fluid milk, which we 63 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: processed into fifty five cases of evaporated milk. Sales were 64 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: slow at first. Local customers didn't see the need to 65 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 1: buy canned milk when fresh milk was available in abundance, 66 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: even if it did have a higher risk of contamination. Still, 67 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: Stuart and cheese John believed in their product, which at 68 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: the time they were calling sterilized cream. Tom Yerkza wasn't 69 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,160 Speaker 1: as convinced and soon sold his half of the business 70 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: to Stewart. Over the next few years, Stuart and Maienberg 71 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: perfected the evapora ration process and improve their canning methods greatly, 72 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: reducing spoilage. Little by little, people began to notice the 73 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: advantages of canned milk. It was easier to transport and 74 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: could be stored long term without refrigeration. The product was 75 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: particularly popular with the hordes of prospectors who had flocked 76 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: to the area during the Klondike Gold Rush. A safe, 77 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: reliable source of milk was a luxury they never expected 78 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: to have in the Yukon wilderness, and they snapped up 79 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 1: cans of it so fast that Stuart had a hard 80 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: time keeping up with the demand. Pretty soon, the company 81 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: was producing ten thousand pounds of condensed milk every day, 82 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: and by nineteen oh two production was up to forty 83 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: thousand pounds per day. Sales of Pacific Coast sterilized cream 84 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: continued to rise, but Stuart thought the product might do 85 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: even better with a catchier name. He eventually hit on 86 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: an idea for one. While walking along First Avenue in 87 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: downtown on Seattle. Glancing into the window of a tobacco shop, 88 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: he noticed a display for Carnation brand cigars. Stuart thought 89 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,359 Speaker 1: it was strange to name a cigar after a flour 90 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: commonly associated with motherhood, but he thought it was a 91 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: perfect fit for a milk product that was being built 92 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: as safe and nutritious. Shortly after this epiphany, Stuart renamed 93 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:27,479 Speaker 1: his business the Carnation Evaporated Milk Company and began putting 94 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: an illustration of the flour on all of the product labels. 95 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: In the early years, the company had sourced all of 96 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: its milk from local farmers. Mayanberg shared his best practices 97 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: with them and routinely checked in to make sure everything 98 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: was up to the company's strict standards. He recognized that 99 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: high quality evaporated milk could only be made from high 100 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: quality fresh milk, and he believed the key to that 101 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: quality was to keep the cows as happy and comfortable 102 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,720 Speaker 1: as possible. Ea Stuart took that lesson to heart, and 103 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: one a nineteen oh six marketing meeting, he described the 104 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,520 Speaker 1: humane treatment of carnation cows as one of the hallmarks 105 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: of the company. A woman from the marketing firm reportedly 106 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,480 Speaker 1: responded to that comment saying, quote, they must be very 107 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: contented cows. Stuart fell in love with that phrase, and 108 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: the following year, the company introduced its first slogan, Carnation 109 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: Condensed Milk, the milk from contented cows. In nineteen oh eight, 110 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: Stewart doubled down on the happy Cow concept by buying 111 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: three hundred and sixty acres of farmland in the snow 112 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: Qualmie Valley and establishing his own breeding farm. He stocked 113 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,800 Speaker 1: it with prize winning Holstein cows and established a high 114 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: standard of care for the herd. The goal of Carnation 115 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 1: Farms was to increase the company's milk production, and Stuart 116 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: firmly believed that cows who lived in a stress free 117 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 1: environment would be able to produce more milk. To that end, 118 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: he forbade rough treatment of the cows and even barred 119 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: as employees from swearing in their presence. He also hung 120 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: a sign in the main barn that laid out the 121 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: basic guidelines for how the cows were to be treated. 122 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: It remains there to this day, and it reads as follows. 123 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: The rule to be observed in this stable at all 124 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: times toward the cattle young and old is that of 125 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: patience and kindness. Remember that this is the home of mothers. 126 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: Treat each cow as a mother should be treated. Carnation 127 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,559 Speaker 1: cows were esteemed by breeders worldwide for their sweet temperaments 128 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: and high milk yields, and many cows today are descended 129 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: from the Carnation heard. As time went on, the company 130 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: branched into other commercial products, including ice cream, baby formula, 131 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: and a sweetened version of its condensed milk. The company 132 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: also dabbled in animal feed, giving rise to several popular 133 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,599 Speaker 1: pet foods, including the Frihei's brand. The Stewart family continued 134 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: to own and operate Carnation until nineteen eighty five, when 135 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: they sold the brand to Nesley for roughly three billion dollars. 136 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: As for Carnation Farms, the property has changed hands a 137 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 1: few times over the years, but since twenty ten, the 138 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: farm and the contented cows who lived there are back 139 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: under the ownership of EA Stewart's descendants. I'm Gay Blues Gay, 140 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 141 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep 142 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,239 Speaker 1: up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 143 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 144 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my 145 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:54,319 Speaker 1: way by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 146 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:57,439 Speaker 1: Thanks to Kasby Bias for producing the show, and thanks 147 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 148 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another Day in History Class.