Milk Collector and Author Bob Dalley
Robert J Dalley (Bob) is one of the founding members of the West Jordan Historical Society and has served for the last 17 years as the curator of the West Jordan Historical Museum.
Bob's story:
“If you would have told me 25 years ago that one day I would be the curator for a Utah community living history museum and author several books about Utah dairies, dairy bottles, dairy milk caps and dairy tokens, I would have told you to stop pulling my leg because that would never happen! But somehow the stars lined up and that is exactly what happened!
When my family and I moved from Azusa, California to West Jordan in August of 1989, there was a whole new world to be discovered. It wasn’t long before my wife, Linda happened onto some milk bottles in the local antique shop and brought them home to display underneath our Country Folk Art wooden cow. The collection grew; we got a milk bottle carrier and filled it up. We found more bottles, and we bought more carriers.
It wasn’t too much later that my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know more about Utah dairies and where the bottles came from. Then I got into Utah milk caps and Dairy tokens. I wanted to see pictures of the dairies. So I started going to the Salt Lake City Library looking for books on Utah Dairies but didn’t find any. I did discover the old Salt Lake City Polk Directories (early phone books) and there I found listings for dairies for each year from the late 1800’s up until the 1990’s.
So began my quest to discover the history behind the dairies and the people who ran them which proved quite successful. I met many wonderful people who were excited to talk about their family dairy history. That little adventure lasted well up until 2005 when I decided to take a break from the research.
Bob's story:
“If you would have told me 25 years ago that one day I would be the curator for a Utah community living history museum and author several books about Utah dairies, dairy bottles, dairy milk caps and dairy tokens, I would have told you to stop pulling my leg because that would never happen! But somehow the stars lined up and that is exactly what happened!
When my family and I moved from Azusa, California to West Jordan in August of 1989, there was a whole new world to be discovered. It wasn’t long before my wife, Linda happened onto some milk bottles in the local antique shop and brought them home to display underneath our Country Folk Art wooden cow. The collection grew; we got a milk bottle carrier and filled it up. We found more bottles, and we bought more carriers.
It wasn’t too much later that my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know more about Utah dairies and where the bottles came from. Then I got into Utah milk caps and Dairy tokens. I wanted to see pictures of the dairies. So I started going to the Salt Lake City Library looking for books on Utah Dairies but didn’t find any. I did discover the old Salt Lake City Polk Directories (early phone books) and there I found listings for dairies for each year from the late 1800’s up until the 1990’s.
So began my quest to discover the history behind the dairies and the people who ran them which proved quite successful. I met many wonderful people who were excited to talk about their family dairy history. That little adventure lasted well up until 2005 when I decided to take a break from the research.
Along the way I had started putting together photos of all the Utah milk bottles we had gathered. Thanks to the generosity of many other Utah milk bottle, Utah milk cap and Utah dairy tokens collectors who permitted me to photograph and scan their collections. Along the way I would up also collecting bottles, milk caps and tokens for the museum and myself. From that research, I was able to put these Illustrated Guides to Utah Milk Bottles, Utah Milk Caps and Utah Dairy Tokens together. They are the closest there is to having all known Utah milk bottles, milk caps and dairy tokens in three separate books.
My newest book The Illustrated Guide to Early West Jordan Gas Stations expands on the history of the area.
A portion of the proceeds from these books benefit the West Jordan Historical Museum dairy displays and help to preserve & maintain the collection for all to enjoy for years to come. The books are also available at the museum.
Contact Bob at [email protected].
My newest book The Illustrated Guide to Early West Jordan Gas Stations expands on the history of the area.
A portion of the proceeds from these books benefit the West Jordan Historical Museum dairy displays and help to preserve & maintain the collection for all to enjoy for years to come. The books are also available at the museum.
Contact Bob at [email protected].