There’s a New Milkman in Town
Alex Prizgintas with some of his local Orange County milk bottles. Alex will present his program of “Orange County Dairies and Their Milk Bottles” at Goshen’s Harness Racing Museum on Nov. 15th. Call 294-6330 to reserve a seat for the dinner/lecture.
“Orange County Dairies and Their Milk Bottles” is a lecture you might expect to hear from a retired dairy farmer, but a 16 year-old high school student?
Alex Prizgintas is a Junior at the Monroe-Woodbury High School and is exceptionally passionate about local history; transportation (both rail and air), local industry (dairy, bottles and bricks), and the Borscht Belt Hotels of Sullivan County. Already a seasoned lecturer, he has given 17 presentations on three separate topics over the past three years, and on November 15th he will be returning to the Harness Racing Museum in Goshen to discuss the history of Orange County Dairies. To illustrate his topic, Alex will be bringing more than 200 milk bottles from Orange County to share and bring to life the history of dairy farming. “I remember one lecture I gave last year that had in the audience three descendants from local dairy farms, three delivery drivers from various dairies and one very special person, Mrs. Knipp, whose husband was one of the founders of the National Association of Milk Bottle Collectors (NAMBC).” The NAMBC recently awarded Alex the Dannheim Emerging Leader Award for his work in promoting and preserving both the history of dairy farming and their milk bottles.
During the early 1880’s, New York was a dirty city with streets crowded with horses and their manure, discarded oyster shells and other debris. Cows were kept in stables and fed the leftover mash from breweries and the resulting milk was so inferior that it became known as “swill milk.” In 1841 the Erie railroad came through Orange County and with its arrival came the discovery of a vastly superior milk. “The Erie Railroad was just the right thing to quickly deliver milk to New York City which became an instant sensation for NYC residents and as well as a major revenue for the railroad,” explains Alex.
To learn more about Orange County Dairies and Their Milk Bottles make a date to be at the Harness Racing Museum in Goshen on Nov. 15th. The evening begins with a wonderful catered dinner at 6:00 followed by Alex’s presentation at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20 ($16 for members of the museum). To reserve a seat for this limited space please call 294-6330.
