Balthazar Berlinger, an immigrant from Switzerland, kept cows in his back yard where he lived on the 3400 block of Indiana Avenue in south St. Louis. In 1888, he started selling milk over a counter in his living room–fifty years before Prairie Farms.
Berlinger Dairy, one of the last of the independents
The business continued for the rest of Balthazar’s life and his son’s life. And at the time, his business model wasn’t terribly unusual.
Writing in the March 24, 1988 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, columnist Jim Fox quoted Fred Schaab, a retired Pevely Dairy executive, who said there may have been as many as 50 neighborhood dairies operating in St. Louis at one time. Schaab said the practice of keeping cows in back yards continued into the 1920s, before health regulations and more sophisticated dairy methods put an end to that type of operation.
Berlinger never grew to the size of Pevely Dairy or Prairie Farms. But it did prove to be one of the longest running independent dairies in St. Louis, outlasting Bailey Farm and even Pevely. Although St. Louis is dominated by Prairie Farms today, as recently as 1982 there were 16 dairies operating in St. Louis, including Berlinger and the legendary Velvet Freeze.
From father to son, rinse and repeat
In 1929, when Balthazar died, his son, Fred A. Berlinger, took over and ran the business. His son, Fred L. Berlinger, received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University and was working as a safety engineer in Kansas City after having served in World War II. But according to his obituary, his father soon asked him to return home to run the dairy with him.
In 1946, they built a new facility about three blocks from the home where Berlinger Dairy started, at 2023 Cherokee Street, along what is now the Cherokee antique district in the Benton Park neighborhood. This remained Berlinger Dairy’s base of operations for 60 years.
The younger Fred took over running the business after the elder Fred’s death in 1959. Berlinger briefly expanded to a second location at 8519 Manchester in 1962, but this location seems to have closed by 1967. When his son Todd graduated high school in 1972, he joined his father in the business, extending it to a fourth generation.
Fred retired in 1986, leaving the business to Todd, who ran the business until it closed in 2006. In all, Berlinger Dairy had a 118-year run.
Berlinger Dairy’s legacy
It’s difficult to pin down when Berlinger started and ended home delivery of milk, because it was something people took for granted for decades. An ad in 1938 listed Berlinger Dairy as one of 19 St. Louis-area dairies that delivered Pasteurized milk in compliance with then-current laws. And an article in the November 10, 1970 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch listed Berlinger as one of seven dairies that still offered home delivery.
The old neon sign which read Berlinger Dairy Center Milk-Ice Cream Since 1888 was removed sometime after 2011, as was the metal awning with Berlinger Dairy lettering. An artisan pasta manufacturer, Midwest Pasta Co., now occupies the space. The midcentury awning has been replaced with a cloth awning but the building is still recognizable.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.