Hawthorn Mellody Farm 
"This was a unique experience for families and school children who lived a city-dominated life. Hawthorn Mellody Farm became a destination for the “baby boom” families to come to have fun and get out of the city. Tours ended with the families enjoying a glass of milk or ice cream. It was Cuneo’s opportunity to influence the family’s purchase of the Hawthorn Mellody brand milk . Cuneo was a master promoter. In 1951 Cuneo added a children’s zoo to the farm and in 1955 added a Wild West town. There was also a small-scale train ride and wagon rides. There were tours of poultry, hog and horse barns. It was simple fun, but the 1950’s were a simple time, and the farm just fit right in. ....The depiction of a modern dairy was an accurate portrayal to the public. The dairy was a state of the art facility, that was copied by other leading dairies in the years to come ....The Hawthorn Mellody brand was well known and sold in stores until the early 1990’s."
"This was a unique experience for families and school children who lived a city-dominated life. Hawthorn Mellody Farm became a destination for the “baby boom” families to come to have fun and get out of the city. Tours ended with the families enjoying a glass of milk or ice cream. It was Cuneo’s opportunity to influence the family’s purchase of the Hawthorn Mellody brand milk . Cuneo was a master promoter. In 1951 Cuneo added a children’s zoo to the farm and in 1955 added a Wild West town. There was also a small-scale train ride and wagon rides. There were tours of poultry, hog and horse barns. It was simple fun, but the 1950’s were a simple time, and the farm just fit right in. ....The depiction of a modern dairy was an accurate portrayal to the public. The dairy was a state of the art facility, that was copied by other leading dairies in the years to come ....The Hawthorn Mellody brand was well known and sold in stores until the early 1990’s."
We loved the zoo! There was a pair of bison named Penny and Nickel. I remember the false fronts of the Wild West town. And I remember the milking parlor. (However, our milk came from Sun Valley Dairy, not Hawthorn Mellody.)
Years and years later: the farm is now Westfield Hawthorn Shopping Mall. The Cuneo mansion is a museum and special-events venue.
Oh, yes--the milk box will be put to use to store bird seed.
What a great story. I have so many Hawthorn Mellody memories of the train ride to the Old Western town with our children - and movies too! Our children were so into the train experiece that they seldom went to the anything else.
ReplyDeleteSun Valley Dairy - must have delivered to all of Lincoln Ave. They were just the best. So are Lincoln Ave. memories.
Judy Hughes
i remember hawthorn melody dairy products! we lived in will county, il for a while and still have family there, even though we are now in a different part of the state. the big dairy down here is prairie farms. when i was little i lived down here and the prairie farms milk truck delivered to the house, still.
ReplyDeleteOh we had one when I was growing up!
ReplyDeleteMy Dad delivered ice cream for Hawthorne Mellody when I was born. Somewhere he found a milk bottle from Hawthorne Mellody that I keep in my kitchen. It looks so pretty in the sunlight, as it has a slightly "salmon pink" tinge in the glass. Every year, my parents would take us to the farm, and how we loved those trips! The ice cream at the end was pretty special also!
ReplyDeleteMy dad was a mechanic for hawthorn melody milk on Chicago Avenue and pulaski before he retired probably in the seventies
ReplyDelete