COLLECTIONS

The success of Ripon’s family dairies served a vital role in the town’s growth. It was this success and the hard work of the Ripon Chamber of Commerce that attracted the attention of the Meyenberg Milk Products Company of Salinas in 1924. The company, founded by John P. and Walter Meyenberg, was known for canning evaporated milk. Their father John B. Meyenberg had emigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1883. In 1884, he patented the process to make evaporated milk. At the time, refrigerators had not yet been invented, and fresh milk could easily spoil. Canned evaporated milk could remain shelf-stable until it was ready to be used and could then be diluted to its regular consistency by adding water.

The Meyenberg Milk Products plant was completed at the end of 1924. The community, many of whom were stockholders in the company, were invited to a free dance and open house to see the new plant and warehouse on December 27. Known as Plant No. 2, it started producing evaporated milk under the “M-M” brand on Monday, January 5, 1925. For Christmas 1925, employees received a Christmas card, bonus check, and an insurance policy (even if an employee left the company, the policy remained active). In August 1926, the Meyenberg brothers sold the Ripon and Salinas plants to Pet Evaporated Milk Company. Pet continued to package the “M-M” brand of canned milk and Walter stayed on as a manager at the Ripon plant.

In 1930, Meyenberg made plans to return to Ripon, this time under the business name of Meyenberg Laboratories Inc. (later changed to Meyenberg Milk Products Company). The milk plant was built using local labor in the southeast part of Ripon on Stockton Street. There were forty-seven local stockholders that represented a $60,000 investment in the plant. At the time the new plant was being built, many areas of the country were engaged in “milk wars.” Dairy farmers protested the lower prices being offered for their milk. Many of these protests turned violent and much milk was wasted. Ripon’s farmers were determined not to engage in a milk war and hoped to increase their output of milk products.
Meyenberg’s new plant opened in 1931 with another community celebration. The plant could pack 1,000 cases (48,000 cans) of evaporated milk under the “All-Pure Evaporated Milk” brand. In 1934, Meyenberg became the first company in America to produce evaporated goat milk. That same year, they also added sweetened milk to their “All-Pure” brand of evaporated milk, which was used for baby food, baking, and candy making. Controlling interest in the company was sold to a group of Los Angeles businessmen in 1948. The plant was remodeled and began manufacturing dairy products for Foster’s Freeze.

After the sale of the Meyenberg Milk Products Company to Robert Sardella in 1976, the plant was closed.

Today, Meyenberg operates a plant in Turlock where it processes goat milk products including yogurt, butter, evaporated milk, powdered milk, and fresh milk.