— " A Cow and A Half - Dairy " —

A thriving business started with half a cow on east Anderson Street. In 1916 Grandma Edith Handy started milking a neighbor's cow for half the milk and was unaware that she was opening a new business that would ultimately serve seven counties surrounding Putnam County. Edith would milk the cow twice a day and son Bernard would deliver the fresh milk in "tin milk pails" to their local customers. Soon Edith bought a cow and you might say that it was a cow and a half dairy. As the business grew a horse-pulled cart was necessary to assist in the delivery of the milk to the local customers.

By 1921 the herd had increased to a dozen cows and the family moved out of town to the Old Peck Farm on 43 South. Demand had also grown to include grade schools seeking milk for the student body. Handy was the first dairy to pasteurize milk in the county. As growth continued Handy's started buying milk from local farmers.

Two years later Handy's located the distribution business at 312 North Vine Street while the 35-cow herd was located on Cemetery Road. Production was now over 150 gallons of milk a day.

A fire struck the new plant in 1925. Desperate to meet business commitments, the Handys gratefully accepted an offer of temporary space at the Gardner Brothers Ice Cream Plant. They operated from that location until 1926 when the 312 N. Vine Street would be rebuilt.

Delivery was no longer by horse and wagon. In 1930 Handy's delivered its products in Stutz package trucks. By 1950 they began using refrigerated Divco trucks. Soon after Handy's bought the Gardner Ice Cream Co. And added ice cream and a variety of novelty dairy products.

Bernard Handy was in a fatal car accident May of 1961. Bernard's son, Norman, who had grown up in the family business along with his Mother Wilma continued with the success of Handy's Dairy, Norman as plant manager and president with Wilma the office manager. Norman, a 1950 Purdue University graduate with a B.S. degree in Agriculture was most capable to continue the family business.

For over 40 years Norman continued the successful operation of Handy's Dairy. Handy's Dairy is now owned by Prairie Farms and in 2002 brought the close of another well-known family owned business in Greencastle and Putnam County that had served our community well.

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