Fresh Milk, the Daily Bread, Candy, Pillsbury Flour and Potato Chips

This blog posting covers some familiar food manufacturers as well as enterprising retailers that have fed the Southland both past and present:

Broguiere's Farm Fresh Dairy

505 South Maple Avenue, Montebello

Once a dairy farm est. 1920, it has stayed the course, and aside from some drastic business decisions along the way, it thrives to this day.  A drive-through dairy, Broguiere's is known for its glass milk bottles and seasonal egg nog.  Given a boost of notoriety by Huell Howser some years ago, the family-owned store is run by third-generation Ray Broguiere, Jr. 

His grandfather, Ernest, was from the French Alps.  Ernest and his stock of 150 cows on five acres was the success over the original lemon grove that resulted in failure.  He and his wife Marie, were relative latecomers to immigrate.  East in Whittier a French dairyman, Francois Pellissier, who immigrated in 1888, developed sprawling pastures.  But the Broguieres have the longevity, surpassing the once larger operation of the Pellissier family.  (Both dairies provided door to door milk deliveries back in the day.)

The 1920 Census data indicates the diverse backgrounds of neighbors to the Broguieres:  Mexicans whose occupations were listed as brickworkers, probably employed at nearby Simons brickyard or the Metallic brick plant further north in Monterey Park.  Japanese residents were also listed, some whose employment were as teachers, probably in the local Japanese language school, as well as farm laborers.

When Ernest's son, Ray, Sr. took over the business in 1965, he had to cut costs by getting rid of the milking cows and switch over to being a milk producer (thus the added name 'Montebello Sanitary Dairy'.)  He made a key decision to retain the rare use of glass milk containers, for which today customers drive from miles away to purchase.

Helms Bakery Plant 2

While the original, 1931 bakery building complex on Washington and Venice Boulevards in Culver City has found new uses with its furniture stores and restaurants, a less known former Helms Bakery building is located in Montebello, not far from Broguiere's.  The sister plant has been a bread outlet store for many years.

Many Southern Californians have fond memories of delicious, fresh breads delivered to their houses by the unique Helms trucks.  The Montebello plant provided service to towns all over the San Gabriel Valley when it opened in 1947.

480 So. Vail Avenue, Montebello

A look inside the truck loading area

The atmosphere while shopping at the bread outlet includes the rumbling of an occasional train and its piercingly loud horn

Garvey Nut & Candy

By all appearances to be the Costco of candy stores, this business is a retailer and a supplier of bulk candy galore and soda pop.  It operated in the City of Commerce on Flotilla Street for many years, but recently moved to Pico Rivera.  The hub of activity in this warehouse concentrates on filling orders as workers pull boxes and bags of candy as they eye-ball their requisitions in hand.  Forklifts are everywhere, so the place doesn't really accommodate too many customers - they definitely do NOT allow children.

Parking is very limited.  You have to dance with the big rigs - both in your car and when on foot.
Update:  On March 1st, 2014, the company changed its name to First Source, and is no longer open to the public - you need to set up an account and have a re-sale license.

8825 Mercury Lane, Pico Rivera

Pillsbury Flour Mills Company

The Minnesota-based company established a West coast milling operation around the late 1940s.  Riding its success through the late 1960s until 1981, Pillsbury was the top flour producer.  In 1961, it expanded its mill in the City of Commerce.  But business spiraled downward until it was bought in 1989 by a British company, Grand Metropolitan.  In 2001, General Mills bought Pillsbury.

Built around 1947, this view is from the "mix-master" intersection on the 5 Freeway overpass

Click here for another view showing the gigantic grain silos attached to the 12-story tower.

Laura Scudder Potato Chips

Ask anybody - if you mention the name 'Laura Scudder' do you think of a woman named Laura, or does Miss Scudder come to mind?  More likely, the two words bring up immediate thoughts of crunchy potato chips instead.  Kitty-corner from The Blue House in Monterey Park is the northeast corner of Garvey and Atlantic by a vacant Shell gas station.  Here a sidewalk plaque informs the pedestrian that Laura Scudder started her business at this site in 1926.

Installed at the street corner by the vacant gas station is this plaque honoring Laura Scudder's site

Railroad Traffic In Montebello and Commerce

Montebello shares its western and southern boundaries with the City of Commerce.  A rail line flows through southern Montebello before entering industrial Commerce.  This image was taken at Olympic Boulevard, looking south on Montebello Boulevard.

This shot was taken July 31, 2010, and I was headed north on Montebello Boulevard, waiting patiently.

Rail cars move through the overpass above Telegraph Road, near Atlantic Boulevard in Commerce.  This vantage point is at the intersection called the mix-master.

East Los Angeles Train Station

About 25 yards east of the mix-master is the former East Los Angeles Train Station.  (This photo was taken July 31, 2010.)  The following photos of the train station were taken in 2001.

Located at 5480 Ferguson Avenue, the station was opened on May 15, 1929 by the Union Pacific Railroad.  Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood was hired by the railroad to design the building.  He was also the designer of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, built in 1927.  Some of the features of the hotel also appear in the East Los Angeles Train Station, including heavy beams painted in bright patterns.  The exterior of the station had a cameo appearance in the 1946 film The Postman Always Rings Twice.  This station ceased operation in 1971, and the building was designated a Cultural/Historic Landmark of the City of Commerce in 1990.

At the time this photo was taken, the Central Market owned the land where the train station sat.  Currently, SEIU Service Employees Local 121 has its headquarters on the grounds at 5480 E. Ferguson Drive.  (Credit to S. Kato for updating me about SEIU's location.)

2003 Train Derailment

(This photo was taken July, 2010.)

It was upon this overpass at Garfield and Ferguson that I witnessed mashed up railcars in accordian-like fashion Sunday evening June 22, 2003.  I had been out of town, and I later heard the news that 31 runaway freight cars began in Montclair, loaded with lumber and paper, gained speeds of 70-86-100 miles per hour, before Union Pacific officials intentionally derailed at Track 4 in a Commerce neighborhood about half a block to the right of this picture.  The incident occurred Friday, June 20th, when Union Pacific officials determined the only option was to cause a derailment.  The aftermath, at 11:58 a.m., was the load of lumber exploding at Davie Avenue, impacting four homes, with a dozen people injured, though thankfully without fatality. 

A couple of years later, Davie Avenue was renamed Miracle Place.

The area along ground-zero of this 2003 mishap received a soundwall between their houses and the tracks.  Pictured is Nicola Avenue, an adjacent street to Miracle Place.