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| Above, Arden Farms at 1900 W. Slauson Av., Los Angeles circa 1930s. |
Kids of the baby boomer generation (post-World War II) growing up in Los Angeles were most likely very familiar with Arden Farms.
Back in those days, when Los Angeles Unified School District was the Los Angeles City School District, milk distributed to school children were usually from Arden Farms. Arden was the giant milk products company in Southern California.
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| Above, Arden's "Arden Boy" of the 1950s. |
Arden Farms branched out into the supermarket business, generally the high-end Gelson's and Mayfair Markets. I used to occasionally shop at the Tarzana Gelson's not knowing at the time they were part of Arden Farms.
Back when I was a kid, we used to take the bus (or streetcar) down Vermont Ave. to Sears at Vermont and Slauson Avenues. Nearby, was the giant Arden Farms plant at 1900 W. Slauson Ave., Los Angeles. The main building used to catch my attention by its giant milk bottle on top.
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| Above, Bela Lugosi at the Arden Farms booth at the 1953 premiere of House of Wax. |
19 comments:
my Dad was a milkman for Arden Farms when we lived in Inglewood. He'd stop by the house on his route, in his white uniform and Milk truck.
My Great Grandfather was the treasurer for Arden Farms. I have a few memorabilia items around, that he left in his old desk. Little pins, mechanical pencils...etc.
I understand that Arden Farms produces aluminum signs in the shape of their regular milk and butter milk containers. Any idea when that was? The 50s? 60s?
I have no idea. But if you find out who might sell them, let me know.
My dad was an Arden Farms milkman in Los Angeles (1900 Slauson Blvd) in the early to late 1950s/early 1960s when they were acquired by Adohr. My dad would take me sporadically on his route, hiding me in a crate while he checked in and made his work a fun day for his only child. On a rainy day, he would pick me up at. my grammar school and take me home. Everyone around would watch with glee as I climbed onto his truck.
Great article, thank you for sharing it. I recall going on the dairy "farm" tour there and wondered where were all the cows? Yes, we also went to the Sears store near by. For some reason, we had Rockview Milk delivered, it had goats milk, for my siblings who were allergic to cow's milk.
Also enjoyed the elementary school tour to Helm's Bakery!
I used to be the security supervisor for the contract security company for Arden Dairy back in the early 70s (Cerritos Security and then American National Security). We logged the daily route trucks and semi trucks in and out of the dairy and patrolled the plant. I loved working there as everyone was so nice and really loved the free milk in the lunch room!
My parents bought a home in 1958 on Ruthelen Street,Which ended at Slauson Ave.This was the main entrance to the Ardens Dairy.I Was 2 years old....I recall employee parking being a major problem and years later Arden's purchased property across the street,providing a asphalt lot.After business hours neighborhood kids would gather and play sports.I remember when they shut down and demolished the building.I really enjoyed talking to the employees dressed with white pants,shirts and caps.We really missed Arden's after they departed.
I just added a photo of Bela Lugosi at the Arden Farms booth at the 1953 premiere of "House of Wax" sipping some milk. I remember seeing this photo in Famous Monsters of Filmland back in the 1970s. I've been meaning to add the photo to this post. - A.
I just bought a farm and I found some old Arden farms milk jugs on the property and a crate if you’re interested in purchasing
Went on a field trip around 1963 there. Got to see the
the way bacteria is found in the milk. Grew up on 58th place and Danker. The freight train went on Slauson Blvd
My father and uncle worked at the Slauson plant starting in 1942. My uncle (Duke Denton was in maintenance and my dad Robert (bob) Hill was a steam engineer. passed away of a heart attack on the job in 1953) when I graduated high school in 1955(Manuel Arts High) I became a "junior engineer" untill my time for the military. when I returned I obtained my unlimited operating engineers license.
My grandfather, Walter H. Packard, was a supervisor at Arden Dairy when my father was born in 1911. Grandfather Packard wanted to name his new son Walter H. Packard, Jr. but Grandmother Packard nixed that because that would make three Walters in their family, since an older son was named Walter R. Packard. So, in a temporary move, Grandfather Packard wrote in Arden as the child's name, thinking he and his wife would hash out later what the child's name would be. They never did, so my father remained Arden.
I'd like to know more about the history of the company. Do you have any recommendations for sources on that? Was a book ever written about the place? Thanks!
I don't know about any books. Arden is still around, but out of the dairy business. They are now Gelson's supermarkets. Here's a history of Arden Group: https://www.zippia.com/gelson-s-markets-careers-15273/history/
Grew up on 58th place and Danker, 1940 to 1958. Neighbor, John Cunio, worked for Arden, and brought home ice cream in 2in cubes. The best ever!!
My dad was a milkman for Arden in 1949 after the Marine Corp. Gramps had a dairy (Vierra and Sons) in Cerritos (Vierra Avenue named after him when the bought his land). Loved his stories and one customer was a house of ill repute in LA somewhere. We always teased him about how long did the delivery take? Ha. He married mom in 1948 after he got out of the Marine Corp. Good video of Dairy Valley and now Cerritos:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj1cCyVmX4c
My husband lived on RuthEllen and he was born in 1958! Near Saint Andrews park he thinks. He lived there for 4 years. And his parents met at Arden Farms.
My family owned Arden 1919-mid 1920's, Fred S Kenfield and Carter, My Grandfather Joeseph T Penton was a VP during this period...Can anyone tell me when the "Arden Boy" came into being...there is rumor that it was modeled after my father
Fascinating, my middle name is Arden and so is my son’s and my grandfather was coincidentally a dairy farmer.
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