By Becky Chapin, Archivist
Meanwhile (Milk Strike Part, One), a mob at the Dairymen’s League plant in MacDougall developed on the morning of August 6. Some 175 to 200 men were gathered at the plant where over three thousand gallons awaiting shipment were poured out. The division manager of the Sheffield Farms, Inc. plant in MacDougall ordered their plant closed for the day, but then ordered it to open the following day as normal.
Ontario County District Attorney Nathan Lapham approached the American Legion Winnek Post of Geneva to request volunteers to be sworn in as special deputy sheriffs. About midnight between August 6 and 7, Lapham made the request and by 4:30 am, twenty-six Legion men appeared for duty and were assigned. The Legion Commander, John E. O’Malley, said it was natural to ask for the Legion’s assistance, as the preamble of the organization’s constitution swears to uphold the constitution of the United States and maintain law and order.
Conditions slightly improved in Geneva by August 7 with large groups of deputies being sworn in by Ontario and Seneca County sheriffs who would assist in guarding the milk being transported along the roadways. Many dairymen started withholding their milk rather than risk being attacked on the road; as a result, several deliveries were smaller than normal. In MacDougall, a small group of farmers assembled and moved back and forth between the League plant and the Sheffield plant, but no dumping occurred.
The mob came in again on August 8. Drivers of three trucks on their way to Geneva were stopped at Gorham; one truck full of milk was dumped, while the other two turned around to go home after being threatened with the same.
The MacDougall League plant saw violence when two were hurt from fist fights and clubs thrown. Seneca County Sheriff Warren Walter and 40 deputies arrived at the plant to protect the deliveries and employees from a reported 800 people. (Whether this number is accurate is debatable. It was also reported that cars were parked solidly for a fourth of a mile on the main road to Romulus. Packing in 3-4 people per car, it doesn’t sound like it could add up to 800 people.)
About 7:30 am, half the squad went to the corner to disperse the mob but were instead attacked to take their clubs and axe handles. As the deputies tried to drive back to join the rest of the squad, someone in a moving car threw a wrench and hit Edward Litzenberger in the face. This caused a surge on the offending car, its occupants tried to escape, and the mob followed which brought them to the League plant just as a load of milk pulled up to the building. The mob tried to dump the milk, but the cans were attached to the truck. Instead, the driver, Frank Wesek, tried to get the people to allow him to return home but the truck was driven to a nearby orchard where 30 cans were poured over the side.
Meanwhile, the Sheffield plant was able to complete their 10:10 am railway shipment of three thousand quarts as none of the mob were near their building. Seneca County District Attorney Huff recommended that the League plant dump their morning milk into the sewer, so when the train came by for their morning shipment, it wasn’t flagged down, so it kept going. Since the morning train failed to stop at the League plant, part of the mob went home. Some 200 remained and threatened to enter the building to dump anything inside but were dispersed by the Sheriff and his deputies.
At the home of Lyman Leonard near Fayette, his wife noticed a group of three cars loitering nearby. She approached the group and demanded to know their business. The men said they were there to destroy the dairy property on the farm, but Mrs. Leonard stood firm and told them to leave, and they did.
On August 9, producers were anxious to deliver their milk and gathered at a location far from the milk plants to be escorted by troopers from farm to farm to plant. A large crowd around 200 was still gathered and watched the milk be delivered, but it held a larger percentage of women and children than in previous days. Both the Sheffield plant and League plant had very small deliveries in the morning, but by 11 am the League plant announced nearly all their milk had come in.
By August 12th, deliveries had started to normalize. The usual flow returned to both MacDougall plants, although trucks delivering to the League plant were still under heavy guard. All the Geneva milk came in without any guards. Milk was still being withheld from Gorham Creameries, but producers voted to end the strike. The nearly 1,000 members of the Western NY Milk Producers Association in Rochester voted to continue their strike.
In Geneva, the heads of all the milk companies lowered the retail price (set on August 1) of bottled milk to the consumer from 12 to 11 cents per quart. With the reduction, the distributors pay only the milk control board prices, so the companies would have to absorb the difference in operating costs.
Many arrests were made in Ontario and Seneca counties for riot and unlawful assembly, but only in Seneca County were four men brought to trial. In fact, the Ontario County Board of Supervisors wrote a letter asking DA Lapham to dismiss the indictments made in their county, citing the expense of the trial for taxpayers and financial difficulties because of the depression. In the end, the four men from Seneca County were found not guilty by a jury of their peers.
For more information,
The Report of the Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate the Milk Industry, April 10, 1933.
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: Food and Beverage History in Geneva, Part 1 and Part 2.