Milk man throws in the towel after 70 years

Milk man throws in the towel after 70 years

August 22 2006 at 03:40AM

Hannibal, Missouri - An 80-year-old milk man who delivered to five generations has reluctantly retired after 70 years of service.

At the age of 10, Clyde Priest began delivering milk in Mark Twain's home town of Hannibal with a coaster wagon to help his father. By the time he retired 70 years later on July 20, he had outlived eight local dairies that provided his products, and become a reminder of an earlier era when the "milk man" regularly delivered direct to people's homes.

Priest was so well known and trusted that customers allowed him to put milk, ice cream and other dairy purchases in their refrigerator when they were not home, according to the Hannibal Courier-Post.

"My theory all these years has been: You could buy milk anywhere, so the only thing I got to sell is my personal service. That was my philosophy," he told the newspaper.

An emergency appendectomy in July forced his retirement, although he had no plans to end his career at age 80. While he recuperated in the hospital, his family made his last delivery for him, the newspaper reported.