The Lasting Charm of the Divco Milk Truck

When I was a young girl in the late 1960s, my family would take the long drive to Maine to visit my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents in Lewiston. My grandparents were French-Canadian immigrants who had come down from Québec and settled into the New England life to raise their family and start a construction company in Maine. Their home looked like a grand castle to me as a young child. It was three stories high, and the driveway entrance was graced by two glass lite podiums. My grandmother spoke mostly French, and as a little girl, our conversations were brief but warm. There are many things I remember from visiting my grandparents at their home; one in particular, that always caught my attention, was the mysterious silver metal box that sat on the front porch right by the entrance steps. Each visit, and when no one was looking, I'd lift its lid only to find it empty. But one early morning, while we were staying overnight, the mystery was solved. I looked out the window just in time to see a truck pull up to the front porch and a man step out carrying four bottles in a metal carrier. He placed them inside the box and back in the truck and off he went. Moments later, my grandmother appeared, opened the lid and carried in four tall glass bottles — each filled with fresh milk. There was something magical about it. As an adult, I often find myself spotting those same boxes, the glass bottles and the metal or wooden carrying crates in antique shops, each one a small portal to that memory. In the 1950s to 1960s, most small communities had milkmen delivering returnable glass bottles of milk placed in insulated boxes on doorsteps. Empty bottles were left out for return, making the system one of the earliest forms of sustainable, reusable packaging. These were common across New England. Also, a common sight were the milk trucks, and most were Divcos — short for Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company — the most iconic milk delivery vehicle of the 20th century. Introduced in the 1920s, Divco trucks were instantly recognizable by their rounded snub-nosed front and unique ability to be driven while standing, perfect for milkmen who made hundreds of quick stops each day. The 1967 model, one of the last true "classic" designs before production ended in 1986, featured sliding doors, steel bodies and plenty of space in the back for dairy crates. In many New England towns, the milk man and Divcos trucks were part of the neighborhood scenery. These trucks were rugged, simple and built to last. But, as convenience culture took over, the Divco trucks faded away, leaving behind a rich legacy of Americana. Today, Divco milk trucks are having a bit of a revival. Many are still on the road today as collectibles, food trucks or vintage restoration projects. Collectors and restorers are hunting them down, fixing them up and putting them back on the road — not for dairy, but for everything from food trucks to mobile coffee bars to vintage showpieces at car rallies. Their nostalgic charm and quirky shape make them favorites at car shows and in museum collections. Depending on the condition and model, Divco trucks can now fetch between $25,000 and $95,000. A fully restored 1967 Divco 300C can easily cross the $75,000 mark, while fixer-uppers still pop up on classic car websites for much less. If you have similar memories of the old-fashioned milk delivery and are in the market for restoring one yourself, you can start your search on BaT (bringatrailer.com) which has several Divoc milk trucks listed right now. I wonder if that was a Divco Truck that delivered the milk to my grandparents' porch? Ruth Blais Thompson is a lifelong resident of the Monadnock Region. She lives in Dublin with her husband and can be reached at rblaisthompson@gmail.com