Medford Was Once a Cowtown

If a certain politician wants to get rid of cows due to flatulence that pollutes the environment, she definitely would have disapproved of Medford in the forties and fifties. At that time there were 37 dairy farms in the township.Prickett’s Express picked up the cans of “Udder Delight,” and farmers were paid by the creameries where the milk was homogenized and pasteurized. Besides quantity the farmers were paid according to the amount of butter fat in the milk. No 1% and 2% in those days. If you didn’t have a cow, like we did, the milk was delivered by truck to the people of Medford. The only time my family of ten needed this service was when Susie was dry.No one worked harder than the dairy farmer. He toiled 15 hours a day, 365 days a year. When they were not milking they were sowing hay and corn, baling hay, fixing tractors, and filling silos. On Friday night Medford was filled with farmers who came to town to cash their milk checks at Burlington County National, the only game, pardon me, the only bank in town.It was quite a chore to lift so many milk cans that held about 50 pounds (yes, it was pounds) of milk. Creameries thought life would be easier if stainless steel tanks that held thousands of pounds were used. Hoses were used to transport the milk to a truck. This was part of the reason that many dairy farms went out of business. To begin with milk prices were low enough and the extra added expense of the tanks put the farmer’s profits in the tank.Pictured is Albert H. Forsythe at his Locust Lane Farm on Church Road with his prized Guernsey heifers.Albert was the father of Congressman Edwin B. Forsythe (1970-1984). Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge was named in honor of him.