The glass bottles were sealed with a little waxed foil cap, provided both a unit for delivery so people could order — 3 bottles or 2 bottles whole milk and 1 bottle cream — and a convenient, efficient way to distribute to distribute milk.
Reed Rohrkaste and his father made the deliveries to homes.
Bob Mudge had fond memories of the dairy.
“I grew up down the street from the Rohrkastes on St. Louis Steet; they lived in a huge house that is still there on the 800 or 900 block. I’ve known the family since childhood. Reed Rohrkaste is my age and we’re still friends.
“We used to play in the storage and cooler area of the dairy. We had the run of the place.
“My mom told me she was in Rohrkaste’s the day Kennedy was shot.
“I used to visit Mrs. Rohrkaste up until she died several years ago,” Mudge said. “She had a small house on a lake in Glen Carbon.
“After the dairy closed down, it was a turning point for all the kids cruising Edwardsville back in the day … that and Dog ‘n’ Suds.”
Arlene Stephenson wrote me that, “As a very young girl my aunt would give my sister and I piano lessons and if we had practiced and played well, she would take us to the dairy to get an ice cream, which was a real treat for us. My favorite was butter pecan.
“I also remember when they first put in soft ice cream. I thought that was a heck of an invention.”
Bill Craft emailed me that, “My family arrived in Edwardsville in 1965 when my father, William Craft, was chosen to be the food services director at SIUE. Shortly after we arrived in town, my father’s new boss told us to meet him at Rohrkaste’s for a meal.
“My mother was a bit surprised because the place was rather nondescript from the outside. But the food was good and I remember it being served in red baskets. If I remember correctly, the place was staffed by family members.”
Dolores Rohrkaste was largely responsible for bringing Southern Illinois University to Edwardsville. She contacted the presidents of both the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University Carbondale to bring an extension to Edwardsville and Dr. Morris at SIUC responded and the rest is history.
Rohrkaste Dairy operated until 1972, and the building now houses Main Street Community Center.
In the book “150 Years of Hometown News,” which chronicles The Edwardsville Intelligencer’s first 150 years reporting on the community, a headline from Sept. 2, 1948, reads: “Rohrkaste Dairy Opens Tomorrow.”
“The Rohrkaste Dairy and Milk Bar, which will handle a complete line of pasteurized diary products, will open at 8 a.m. tomorrow at 1003 Main Street.”
The dairy was open six days a week, the Intelligencer article states, and, “Milk will be sold at the prevailing price in Edwardsville, 21 cents a quart for homogenized and 20 cents for pasteurized.
“Milk will be sold across the counter for 3 cents less than delivered prices.
“Fountain service will be provided at the new establishment. Mrs. William Rohrkaste, Jr., co-proprietor, said the dairy would feature malted milks and milk shakes.”
The book was compiled by local historian Cindy Reinhardt and published in 2012. Dolores Rohrkaste lived to be 96; she died in March 2020.
