J. A. Beaudry Dairy
(1920 - 1972)

Historic

In 1920, at 30 years of age, Joseph Armand Beaudry who worked several years in a cigar shop in Farnham, decided to establish himself in Saint-Césaire. With Almosa Bolduc, his spouse, he invest the 15,000 dollars that he saved, in a very large farm which covers almost half of today's Saint-Césaire city. The couple had 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy named Louis-Marie.

Joseph Armand started as farmer with a small herd of cows. He first sold milk to neighbors. Its dairy farm was located where are today Dufresne and St-Jean streets.

Between 1920 and 1925, he delivered milk by foot in containers similar to small honey pails. In 1924-25, customers increased and to save time, he made metal "hooks" (one in each hand) enabling him to transport 12 pails at the same time!

By 1928, the hooks system does not do the work anymore. Then he decided to get a horse drawn wagon. The first wagon is said to be a platform with open surface. The honey pails were replaced by DeLaval bottles (no name on it) and wooded crates. Trudel and DeLaval Companies of Acton-Vale were the suppliers. Later he bought a cooler and a separator.

In 1933, he ordered from Mr. Bélanski of Saint-Dominique, a closed horse-drawn carriage. Mr. Bélanski was manufacturing them, wheels covered with rubber belting! Louis-Marie told that it is also in these years that his father bought "Ti-Cock"! A beautiful black horse, that was the last horse of "Authier Dairy" from Granby. Mr. Authier had to sell all his horses because the city was now prohibiting the horse-drawn carriages in the city.

In 1960, Louis-Marie is now 40 years old and decided to take over his 70 years old father. Louis-Marie was well educated because, however he always worked in the dairy on weekends, he studied many years in the best Montreal schools.

In 1965 or about, Louis-Marie bought his first "Metro" truck. He also decided to hire other milkmen to help him because now, he had to get milk from "Authier Dairy" in Granby.

With the prices always going up and the competition increasingly present, the next years were very difficult. The small dairy had to give up and quit business in 1972.

Source: Mr. Louis-Marie Beaudry, 86 years old.
Son of Joseph Armand Beaudry, deceased in 1975 at 85 years old.

Searches : Jean-Guy Comtois

Updated 2012-10-09