Milk Caps and Memories

By Rylee LaLonde

Got Milk? Students at the Island School certainly did, delivered fresh daily in glass bottles!

During the summer of 2025, Michigan State University’s (MSU) Campus Archaeology Program (CAP) excavated what was once the Island School, now a farm field. Among the artifacts found were remnants of milk bottle caps– a reminder of daily life that recounts the larger story of the local dairy and mid-century school culture.

The Island School

The Island School, opened in 1849, served as Delhi’s Fractional District No. 1 school, one of five main annexations accompanied by other Delhi rural districts’ schools in the history of the Holt School District (Holt-Delhi Historical Society). Students who attended came from all around this historic area, which includes Mason, East Lansing, Lansing, and Holt (Holt-Delhi Historical Society). During summer excavations, one of many finds from this historic site were milk caps from Heatherwood Farms.

The Island School from Holt-Delhi Historical Society (Date Unknown)

A Local Legacy: Heatherwood Farms

Heatherwood Farms was formed in 1934 when the original dairy firm took new ownership under President Henry Crouse. The dairy had been previously operated under Winan’s Dairies, then Crouse’s Creamery, before being officially bought out by Crouse and several local board members, each with long-standing experience in the dairy business (Lansing State Journal, 1934).

The diary’s new operations were expansive. In 1934, Heatherwood Farms invested in delivery trucks branded with their new slogan, “Let Me Be Your Milk Man.” Their products included Brown Swiss milk, cream from Teel-Campbell’s famous herd, grade “A” pasteurized milk and cream, butter, cottage cheese, chocolate milk, and ice cream (Lansing State Journal, 1934).

Heatherwood Farms’ new trucks in Lansing State Journal (1934)

Almost a decade later, Heatherwood Farms bought out the Holt Dairy Company in 1943 (Holt-Delhi Historical Society). It was most likely during this time that Heatherwood Farms delivered milk to the Island School.

“Stubby Little Milk Bottles”

Oral history interviews conducted by past CAP staff captured memories from residents, such as Lanny Reed, who recalled the “little stubby” bottles, many of which have been excavated on MSU’s campus.

Mr. Reed remembered the layout of the schoolhouse and the absence of a cafeteria, pointing out a tree line where he recalled how, “the kids ate lunch outside…under the trees.” Students were tasked with bringing their lunches, and every day the milkman would come and drop off chocolate or white milk in bottles.

“I think it was a nickel or something…maybe two or three cents more for chocolate,” Reed reminisced, remembering the occasional nice treat. However, the type of milk is not the only detail he recalls. Reed remembered the excitement of watching the milkman arrive with crates of milk during his school years, describing the students “watching the milkman deliver in the horse-drawn wagon, ice wagons…” He recounted how the milkman would get out and drop off the milk, while the horse would keep going “…a very slow horse.”

Although the short “stubby bottles” from Heatherwood Farms are popular, the milk caps were equally valued! In the late 1800s, brothers Harvey and Samuel Barnhart patented disposable fiber caps for milk bottles, which later became the dairy industry standard for delivering pasteurized milk (Ciroula, n.d.). The manufacturing of milk caps continued to evolve over time, including the popular stapled cap that served as a pull tab for ease of opening (Ciroula, n.d.). In the 1980s, the popularity of milk caps grew, becoming collectibles associated with the “Milk Cap Cover” game (Ciroula, n.d). This game, created by Blossom Galbiso, adapted from the Japanese game of Menko, took milk bottle caps where children would stack decorated caps and take turns throwing a heavier disk called a “slammer” into the stack (Research Guides…, 2025; Museum, 2020). Caps that land face-up are won by the thrower; those that are not are restacked– this continues until all caps are collected, the player with the most caps wins! (Research Guides…, 2025) Regardless of the collectibility status, the bottle cap designs at Heatherwood Farms remain the same through the years, the only difference being the material. The caps feature “Heatherwood Farms” with “pasteurized,” “PH” (phone), and 21306 directly below, with a bagpiper pictured to the left.

Connecting to the Past

These excavated milk caps represented more than just lunch period nostalgia. They serve as physical evidence of a time when local dairies served local schools, glass bottles made daily rounds, and milk caps were collected as schoolyard treasures.

The caps serve as a connection to Heatherwood Farms’ (since demolished in 1999) legacy in the Greater Lansing Area to the daily school life in mid-century Michigan. They highlight how ordinary objects, like milk bottle caps, can become archaeological artifacts that help us to remember a past that is lived, learned, and community built.

Do you have memories of milk delivery at your school?

References

Ciroula, C. (n.d.). The History of Milk Caps, Menko, and POGs. Kandor Archives. https://www.kandorarchives.com/p/milk
caps-pogs.html

Holt-Delhi Historical Society. (n.d.). Preserving and promoting the history of Holt and Delhi Township.
https://www.holtdelhihistory.org/

Fox Treasures Bazaar. (n.d.) Heatherwood Farms Dairy Milk Bottle Cap POGS- Lansing, MI
        (lot of 9) Vintage. eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/226937071826

Lansing State Journal (Michigan). 05 Sept. 1934. Database with images. Newspapers.com.
         https://lansingstatejournal.newspapers.com/browse/united-states/michigan/lansing/lansing
         state-journal_3758/1934/09/05/: 2025.

Museum, Makawao “The Strange History of Pogs.” Makawao History Museum, Makawao
        History Museum, 30 July 2020, www.makawaomuseum.org/blog/the-strange-history-of
        pogs.

Research guides: Children’s popular culture: Pogs. POGs – Children’s Popular Culture – Research Guides at BGSU
University Libraries. (2025, October 21). https://libguides.bgsu.edu/c.php
g=1471833&p=11028054#:~:text=Pogs%2C%20also%20known%20as%
20milk,used%20to%20play%20the%20game.