On April 8, something miraculous occurred in the United States that only happens every 18-plus years — a total solar eclipse. St. Louis, Southern Illinois, and Waco, Texas, were among the prime viewing locations for the path of totality.

“Summer Sun, something’s begun” sings John Travolta (Danny Zuko) about his summer romance at the beach with Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) during the song “Summer Nights,” one of the many popular hit songs in the 1978 musical “Grease.” 

Market research firm Circana reports that the overall milk category, comprising refrigerated milk, refrigerated alternative milk, “all other” refrigerated milk, and non-dairy refrigerated milk, notched $19.6 billion in dollar sales at a slight 1.2% decrease over the prior year. 

Queens and Staten Island merged with New York City. The Bronx Zoo opened. The inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, was coaching Kansas University’s new basketball team. AND in 1899, Dairy Foods (via its predecessor Dairy Record) was established. 

From running the pasteurizer to pumping fresh milk to adding the all-important starter culture to putting the cheese in forms and pressing it down, Master Cheesemaker Tony Hook is hands-on when crafting 70 flavors of aged cheddars, blues and mixed milk cheeses that bear the name of Hook’s Cheese.

While family-run Hook’s Cheese only has seven full-time employees, this 8,500-square-foot cheesemaking plant — originally built as a livery stable to the Washington Hotel in 1875 and is on the National Register of Historic Places — has transcended history as one of the first cheese companies in Wisconsin to perfect the art and science of mixed milk cheeses.

In the dairy industry, inclusions commonly add color, taste, and texture to premium ice cream — think chunks of cookie dough, swirls of caramel, and slivers of nuts and cherries — and yogurt with its now popular “sidecar” packaging. 

In the 1967 musical “Doctor Doolittle,” Rex Harrison in the title role sings about being a “reluctant but sincere vegetarian,” as he hears piglet Gub-Gub’s squeals as sausage and bacon sizzle over an open flame.

Sanitation on dairy farms and in dairy plants is a top priority with heat exchangers ensuring that raw milk is properly pasteurized and safe for human consumption without bacteria like E coli and salmonella. 

Eric Garr, Regional Sales Manager, Food Safety, Checkweighing, and Contaminant Detection Specialist at Fortress Technology, has been with the company for 18 years, starting off as a Field Service Technician before advancing to his current role.