Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/543152
24 personally for a "few decades," and I always have thought it was a shame he was not born in a different era. In the latter days of John's dad running the home delivery business, they were selling other companies' milk products, John was adamant about bringing Hornstra Farms home delivery service back to its roots. He brought back the product line of milk in glass bottles and had the milk sourced from a cousin in North Haverhill, New Hampshire that maintained the "old family" process of vat pasteurization, a process that gently rises the temperature of the milk to 145 degrees for half an hour. This technique ''preserves the integrity of the milk, the natural enzymes and gives the milk a superior flavor and velvety texture none of the large diary distributors can afford or have the time to use this process," according to John. Hornstra Farms received deliveries of the freshest milk two times per week, with a guarantee that the milk was also growth hormone free, which NONE of the larger dairy companies could state and now some only "pledge." The business grew from a few hundred customers to thousands in a few short years, with customers enjoying the nostalgic aspect of "the milk man" and home delivery, but more importantly, customers were enjoying the fresh, pure and rich taste of Hornstra Farms milk. The other aspects of recycled bottles and growth hormone free product also played well to Hornstra Farms favor. I was personally the "milkman" and worked alongside John during the early days of the growth of Hornstra Farms home delivery business. Our day started a 4:30-5am delivering milk to hundred plus stops per day along the south shore and the day wasn't complete until the trucks pulled back to the barn on Union Street in Hingham and were loaded for the next day's deliveries ending the day at 5pm or so. We applied many grass root marketing opportunities and techniques to grow the business, with the tried but true, stopping at a bus stop in the morning and handing out samples to mom's and dad's at the bus stop with their kids which resulted in tremendous success! Once you got someone to try a sample, it became nearly 100% certain that they signed up. People really enjoy the product but are very nostalgic about the memories and simplicity with the concept "the milk man." Today there are 6 drivers and about 3,500 plus home delivery customers. While the home delivery business was exciting, and personally rewarding there was just always something missing for John: COWS! John had always dreamed of bringing dairy farming back to the south shore area and to show people of the area the entire process of a working dairy farm. For years John visited with the owners of the 80 acre Loring Farm on Prospect Street in Norwell. The Loring Farm had ceased operating at its full capacity in the early 1980's. The owners had become elderly and there was no family interest in the farm. Fortunately, the property had been protected to keep it as farmland by the State