08/12/2025
The Exciting Story of Wetherell Dairy
(Wrote by Kevin Ray Wetherell Great Grandson of Ray and Eula Wetherell)
The Wetherell Dairy was started on April 15, 1928, on County Road 20 (Pickerington Rd), between Busey Road and Basil-Western Road. It was a family business run by Ray E. and Eula Wetherell along with their five children, daughter Evelyn and sons Robert, Edwin, Ray Jr. and Jim. They started with one model T truck and 20 cows on 105 acres. The raw milk was bottled by hand in CMDA glass bottles, and the cows were milked by hand. Eventually the enterprise grew to include 350 acres and 125 head of milking Jersey cows and young stock.
It required a lot of hay to meet the requirements of the dairy cattle. Some acres of land were planted in alfalfa-ladino-brome. This is in addition to 30 acres of permanent bluegrass pasture. The two silos on the Wetherell Farm were able to hold 400 tons of the alfalfa-brome-ladino mixture. Putting up the hay took place three times each summer.
In addition to their own cattle, the wetherell Dairy supplied milk from 30 other dairy farms including Graceland Farm located in Pickerington. Most of the milk went on the fluid market as Jersey cream line, cottage cheese, chocolate milk among other dairy items.
In 1931, Pasteurized milk came on the market, still with the cream at the top. You heated the milk in a vat to 143 degrees and let it sit for 30 minutes at that temperature to kill the bacteria. Then you used rapid cooling to bring it down to 30 degrees. This was followed by Homogenized milk which is the product sold today. This processing method breaks up the butter fat particles and distributes it evenly in the milk. Without it, the cream will rise to the top.
In 1931, Wetherell milk was delivered to stores in the area including those in Pickerington, Reynoldsburg, Canal Wi******er, Columbus and surrounding areas. As more routes were added, more workers were needed. Eventually 15 people in addition to family members were employed.
Initially, all the milk was bottled in glass bottles. Milk was not put into cartons until 1946-47 when vending machines became popular. They did not use the cartons for school milk until 1955, cartons were first used mainly in groceries and the vending machines at the Lockbourne Air Base, Ohio Sate Fair Grounds among other locations. They had about 100 machines they serviced. Vending machines offered chocolate milk, white milk and orange drink.
The Wetherell Dairy truck fleet increased to 20 Divco Milk trucks, and the operation had five wholesale routes, nine retail routes and two routes to area schools when the business was sold to Harmony Farms Inc in April of 1971.
Interesting facts about the farm
• In the early 1900’s the farm was originally operated as an orchard.
• The main farm was bought in March of 1924 from Dennis Kelly, owner of the Capital City Dairy Co. Columbus, Ohio which produced purity Butterine “margarine” products. A team of horses, American Hampshire hogs and some farm equipment were part of the farm purchase.
• American Poland China hogs were purchased in 1926.
• April 15, 1928, Ray bought Gus Stemen’s small herd of 20 Jersey cows and milking outfit.
• In 1928 the dairy didn't have any milking or bottling machines. Raw milk was poured into a vat. it then flowed over water chilled coils to cool the milk and into a 10-gallon milk can. A corner of the milk plant was built to hold cold water. The milk cans were sat in that water to keep cool. Milk was poured from that can into another can with a spigot. Bottles which had been hand washed and rinsed were filled and set aside to be "topped off" and then capped. The cap was a flat cardboard disk that was pressed into the neck ring of the round bottle. Milk not bottled was separated and the cream was sold to the Pickerington Creamery where butter was made. Ray senior would load the wooden milk crates full of the bottled milk in the model T truck and deliver to residents and nearby stores. This process was done twice a day with the help of Ray, Eula and their daughter Evelyn. Evelyn was assigned to hand milk 5 cows each morning and evening. A jelly sandwich was always waiting upon arrival home from school. If Evelyn didn't get the cows milked in time, she missed the bus and rode to school with her father Ray on his milk route.
• 1931 Wetherell’s purchase their first Pasteurizer.
• 1945 Dairy farm barn, pump house burn. Loss was estimated at $2,350, when a feed storage barn and pump house burned to the ground.
• 1946 Ray Wetherell elected new president of Jersey Cattle Club.
• 1948 the main barn and milk truck garage were built.
• Aug. 1948 Fairfield dairy-pasture-hay day was held at the Wetherell Farm, a crowd of 2,000 attend the 2nd annual event that day.
• December 1948 “Central Ohio Farm Impresses Two English Agriculturists” Instead of tea Farmers from England enjoyed chocolate milk at the Wetherell Farm.
• 1950 Ray Wetherell increases crops on his dairy farm. “You don’t need more land to grow more feed just raise bigger crops on the land you already have”, Ray wetherell says.
• In 1951 they milked 54 Jersey cows with a electric milking machines. Which were “De Laval” it took an hour and fifteen minutes each AM & PM to milk 54 cows.
• They bottled approximately 1,200 gallons of milk a day.
• June 1951 Jersey Breeders from all over the Nation visit Wetherell Farm.
• 1952 the original farmhouse caught fire. Ray Wetherell’s home gutted by $10,000 Blaze.
• 1953 the new house was built by Waldo E. Wollam. Wollam was Jim Wetherell’s father-in-law. Waldo E. Wollam was the mayor of Reynoldsburg in the mid 1950’s.
• 1954 Fire damage to the Wetherell’s tenant house, occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Willis Morrison and their five children. This was located on the north side of the property close to the lake off Pickerington and Busey rd.
• July 1954 Wetherell dairy hosted the” State Picnic “were Jersey breeders all over the state would gather this had over 400 people attended.
• 1955 Wetherell Dairy favors selling milk by vending machines.
• Aug 7th, 1959, a 264-ft well is serving the dairy with a 10-inch casing would pump 100 gallons a minute.
• 1963 Jersey Bull receives national honors. A registered Jersey bull, ETTA’S MILESTONE, owned by wetherell & Mykrantz brothers has been announced by the American Jersey Cattle Club as a superior sire. His 13 daughters completed records averaging 9,179 pounds milk and 531 pounds butterfat on a twice-daily milking.
• 1965 Winds bring rain, $3,000 loss to area. Lighting struck Wetherell’s home leaving a 2-foot hole in roof, splintering the sheathing and knocking off about 9 square feet of tile roofing.
• 1965 Wetherell Dairy, straw stack catches fire 3,000 bales destroyed.
• 1965 Brenda Wetherell’s 6-year-old Jersey Sparkle Sahle Belle Wins (District jersey Parish Show Champion).
• 1968 Mayor M.E. Sensenbrenner awards the key to the city to Wetherell Dairy’s prized jersey cow “Jean.”
• November 11, 1974, complete dispersal sale Ray Wetherell Jersey Herd.
• April 2017 Approximately 100 pieces from Kevin Ray Wetherell’s personal dairy collection can be seen at the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society Museum (up to 100 people attended opening day). This was Ray and Eulas great grandson.
• Sheep were the first animals raised.
• Chickens were the next venture. Four brooder houses were built. Ray had 5,000 chickens until the market got flooded with chickens. Then they were sold off and trucked off to PA.
• Making hay was a busy time. A team of horses pulled a wagon of loose hay up the embankment into the barn. Horses were unhooked from the wagon and a "double tree" was used to attach the lines for the pulley to the hay fork which lifted loose hay to the mow.
• Homes located along Busey Road were the Family members’ homes that backed up to the lake on the dairy.
• Wetherell dairy had a dairy store in Reynoldsburg, located at 7111 East Mait St.
• Wetherell dairy were the pioneers of the milk industry in Ohio, first to become registered All-Jersey, first to have their milk in super market stores which was Big Bear.
• Wetherell introduced All-Jersey milk in eleven Big Bear Supermarkets in Columbus on Sep. 6th. Introduction of the milk in these super-markets was spear-headed by a well- planned advertising program with a large Ad in the major Columbus newspapers on Thursday of each week. Coinciding with this advertising program were special displays at two stores each week over a five-week period. Two small Jersey calves were attractively displayed in a pen in front of the store and pamphlets on All-Jersey milk were handed out to the customers as they went inside. Everyone was invited to try a free sample of Wetherell’s All- jersey milk at the dairy counter in the store. All-Jersey in half gallon, quart and pint cartons were displayed in the dairy section. An attractive saleslady, who was a real specialist, handed out small cups of ice cold Wetherell Dairy All-jersey milk from a glass dispenser and encouraged shoppers to purchase Wetherell’s delicious All-jersey milk.
• Wetherell’s All-Jersey milk in the Big Bear super-markets averaged about 7,000 quarts a week in eleven stores.
• The machinery used by the Wetherell’s in making use of forage are a field baler and grass chopper and two feed blowers. There are three silos on the farm, one 14 by 40 feet, the other two 12 by 40 feet. The loft of the 60- stanchion prefabricated barn holds 200 tons of baled hay- enough to last a year.
• The Wetherell herd has followed a regular health program along with a most outstanding breeding program. Such Internationally known females as SPARKLE SABLE BELLE and three Jug winners were bred by the Wetherell’s.
• Wetherell’s herdsmen over the years (Irving Searle, Ralph Turley, Bob Gray)
• Wetherell Dairy also bottled milk for other local dairy’s (D.M. Call Pickerington, Ohio and Supreme Dairy Basil-Baltimore, Ohio
• Dairy products offered were white and chocolate milk, coffee cream, butter milk, half & half, skim milk, eggnog, cottage cheese, orange drink, fruit punch and butter.
