Photograph by Robert Scheer
Ron Garthwaite hooks a Guernsey cow to a machine for the dawn milking.
By Ryan Ozimek
After 70 years as owner of the historic Claravale Dairy in the heart of Monte Sereno, founder Kenneth Peake sold his business to local dairy herdsman Ron Garthwaite on July 12.
The purchase, which includes all the cows and milking apparatuses, comes midway through a massive citizens' fundraising campaign to buy two of the three acres of land at 18170 Bicknell Road that the dairy occupies.
One of the main obstacles that preservation committee members are facing now is raising enough money to meet the Dec. 31 deadline. By that date, the fundraisers will need to have the $1.25 million necessary to buy two of the three acres of land still owned by Peake. "So far, we've collected about $400,000 of the money in pledges," said Leo Himmelsbach, chairman of the Claravale Preservation Committee.
Previous concerns had been raised regarding who would buy the dairy and its land. At first, it seemed as though the city of Monte Sereno would take part in finding a buyer for the land, but that plan has been abandoned.
"I don't think taxpayers' money should go to subsidize any part of this preservation," said Rosemary Pierce, past Monte Sereno city manager and current member of Citizens FOR Monte Sereno. "If the community wants it, they should pay for it themselves."
Current City Council member Pamela Bancroft saw the issue differently. "By far, the majority of people who contacted me and the council were in favor of preserving the dairy, rather than allowing a developer make three housing lots out of it," Bancroft said.
Neighbors of the dairy have sided with Bancroft. Many see the dairy as beautiful country scenery tucked in the suburban housing development, and most bought their houses thinking the dairy would stay.
In the end, the city decided to match the $7,500 the commitee had raised to buy a three-month option to purchase the land. However, Bancroft said the city has no plans for further expenditures on the dairy.
Before Garthwaite bought the business, the Claravale Dairy had been struggling to break even. Competition hasn't been a concern to Peake, who has relied primarily on a niche of about 200 customers.
"My goal is to take this dairy and make it a self-sufficient, profitable business," Garthwaite said, "but becoming profitable depends on how quickly we can get about 200 more customers."
Seeking to revive the business, the new owner is beginning to take a series of steps to create a more efficient dairy. For example, for many years, the dairy used antique milk bottles worth more than the milk they protected. Recently, the dairy purchased new bottles, less expensive than the older ones, and a deposit fee has been added to the price of a bottle of milk.
Garthwaite also hopes to purchase more productive cows and expand the product line into such areas as ice cream, in which the dairy would contract another business to make the ice cream for them while the dairy produces the milk and sells the ice cream on its site.
"If we can begin to produce what we can comfortably, we can increase our product base," Garthwaite said.
But the focus of the dairy will not be solely on producing and selling milk. Instead, it will also serve as a sort of window to the early part of this century, a place where schoolchildren can visit and learn about how daries once operated.
"This is an absolutely unique part of this valley," Himmelsbach said. "It's just like stepping back to 1931 and is much like a working museum."
The dairy is only one of two dairies in the state licensed to sell unpasteurized milk, and Garthwaite had said in the past that some local health food stores were eager to stock the dairy's natural milk.
"This is the only place in Northern California that you can get non-adulterated, healthy milk," Garthwaite said.
To volunteer at the Claravale Dairy or to help in the fundraising effort, call 535-0331.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, August 14, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved