Today's milkmen have more than milk to offer – they consider themselves an extension of the local farmers' market. Their products are fresh, local, and friendly, and they're delivered to your door. New Hampshire Public Radio's Raquel Maria Dillon went on a milk run with a local deliveryman and filed this report.
Robin Matott was chatting with a contractor in her driveway, when the milkman made his weekly delivery.
MATOTT :08 I get milk, eggs, meat, cheese. My favorite is Rat Trap Cheddar.
The driveway contractor was clearly surprised to see a milkman carting glass bottles in a plastic crate.
CONTRACTOR :10 I didn't think there were milkmen anymore! hehe. I remember milkmen when I was a kid!
Ron Panneton says that's a typical reaction. He and his wife Robin run Catamount Farm. Together, they've been delivering milk and other meat and dairy products for almost two and a half years. Usually Robin drives, carefully backing the freezer truck into a long, steep, dirt driveway.
RAQUEL :04 that was a very nice backing up job
ROBIN thank you!
RON Robin's a pro. Hehehe!
Ron can grab three plastic crates full of milk bottles in each of his big beefy hands. Robin is the quiet one behind the wheel. Together, they've never missed a single delivery – even in bad weather – and Ron credits his wife's careful driving. They make about 50 deliveries a day, four days a week…
RON :13 Wednesdays is west Manchester, Bedford. And on Thursdays, it goes down thru Deerfield, east Manchester, Hooksett, Pembroke…
On Mondays, they make the long drive up to Sherman Farms in East Conway to pick up the milk.
RON :11 we buy all products from local farms. Or most of 'em. There are some things that you just like… There's nobody in NH growing oranges these days. We have to buy orange juice from somewhere else. Hehe.
On a sunny Friday afternoon, many customers are home so Ron and Robin stop to chat.
AMBI dog barking
ROBIN :05 how's your back doing?
GLEN I was in the hospital! I ended up with…
They talk about vacation plans and commiserate over back pain for a few minutes before hitting the road again. Some customers have become friends, like Glen Martin.
RON :17 we had this old, old 1984 truck, and the brakes fell off it in front of his house. Hehe. And we spent hours fixing it and running for parts here and there and helping me out. all of his wrenches. We've been good friends ever since.
AMBI :06 opening door
ROBIN where's Jackson?
Some customers eagerly anticipate their weekly milk delivery.
REARDON :05 Jackson's the 6-year-old, he's personal friends with Ron and Robin and looks forward to them coming every week.
Jackson wasn't home, but his mom was… Tara Reardon likes having grocery staples delivered to her home, even though it costs more than at the store.
REARDON :19 Y'know it's not a lot more expensive. Because the bottles are returnable. We like to do that recycling part of it. The convenience is another thing. When we buy milk mid-week we go to corner store, not supermarket. Joke that's we'd rather give money to Ron and Robin than to Shop and Save or Shaw's. We like to support local industry.
Catamount Farm's milk is $3.85 for half a gallon. That includes a dollar-50 deposit for the bottle, but not the additional 2-dollar fee for each delivery.
RON :15 we have to count up the bottles they return b/c there's a deposit on them. That's like recycling.
CUSTOMER it's the milkman! I used to milk my share of cows. Hehe.
Ron stands in the freezer, collecting the items in the next delivery.
RON :15 four ½ gallons of whole milk, 4 quarts coffee milk, breakfast sausage, bacon from North Country Smokehouse. 3 packages of ham steaks, and 2 packages of bacon from Garfields.
They also deliver frozen pizzas, maple syrup, jam, and soy milk. Like their dairy products, the prices are higher than in the supermarket. But customers say the extra cost is worth it for the convenience and the satisfaction of supporting local farms and small businesses.
Some customers enjoy the nostalgia of milk delivered to their door. But with all the specialty products, the business is a far cry from the milkmen of yore.
RON :10 it's like reinventing the wheel. I wish there were people around that I could talk to that used to do this. B/c we've had to figure out everything on our own.
Catamount Farm currently has a waiting list of customers and they get regular phone calls from potential customers who live outside their delivery area.
RON :17 part of growing a business is you need to go beyond your capacity before you can put on employee so you don't give away all your work. We're at that point where we're over-capacity for the amount we can do.
Ron and his wife say they're working long hours these days, because business is booming.
RON :15 we'd like to grow to be 3 trucks. We have 2 right now. It's an attainable goal, we could grow to be much bigger than that. But that seems to be a good size to us.
ROBIN For next few years.
They're looking to hire their first employee. But the job qualifications are demanding. Their new hire will have to be comfortable behind the wheel of a large truck. And he or she will have to have another more intangible quality: their customers will have to feel comfortable with their new milkman.
RON :19 the milkman was someone who was known by everyone in the neighborhood. The guy went into everyone's house and filled refrigerator. Nowadays, with world different, you have to be very careful. You wanna find just the right person to do job.
In that respect, Ron and Robin Panneton keep the tradition of the neighborhood milkman alive, with a new business model and old-fashioned friendliness.
For NHPR News, I'm RMD.
