This is a glass individual serving size cream bottle. It is printed with the words "Walnut Dairy Farms" on one side and was found in a garden in the North Cedar section of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Walnut Dairy Farms was a local dairy business located at 1225 Commercial in Waterloo, Iowa. The company was bought out by the Anderson Erickson Dairy company in the fall of 1962. Currently, the Anderson Erickson Dairy company is the largest independent dairy company in the state of Iowa. It was started in 1930 as a local milk delivery business in the Des Moines area, where it made weekly deliveries of milk and other dairy products to customers. Over the decades, the company grew into one of the largest and most profitable dairy corporations in Iowa. AE is noted as being the first milk company to print missing person images on their milk cartons after the disappearance of two Iowans in 1984; this trend would eventually be taken up by dairy companies across the United States. This content can be used with the following standards: SS-Econ.9-12.24: Iowa Economy Impact Upon SS-US.9-12.2: Iowans Impact US History While there are not many details regarding this particular bottle or the Walnut Dairy company, there is a host of information regarding the history and impact of the Anderson Erickson Dairy company, which acquired the Walnut Dairy company in 1962. The context of AE Dairy can help demonstrate to students how wider trends of economic policy help facilitate the growth of large corporations and also how agricultural businesses in Iowa can impact the larger United States in unexpected ways. For any use other than instructional resources, please check with the organization that owns this item for any copyright restrictions.
2018.018.154 [Bottle]
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Copyright to this resource is held by the Cedar Falls Historical Society and has been provided here for educational purposes only, specifically for use in the Iowa Museum Association's "Teaching Iowa History" project. It may not be downloaded, reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission from the Rights Holder. For more information on U.S. and International copyright laws, consult an attorney.