GERRY Everard has unpacked his last milk crate after more than five decades.<\/p>\n
Following his factory job at the Wallace Dairy factory, Mr Everard delivered milk to shops and businesses throughout Ballarat for over 40 years.<\/p>\n
He said the thing he\u2019ll miss the most is the interactions with his customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made a lot of lifelong friends in the dairy game, and I wouldn\u2019t change a thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was never a good job for the social life, getting up at 2am most days, so it\u2019s kind of been wrapped around it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I didn\u2019t have something cheeky or smart to say to the customers, they\u2019d ask if I was alright. I guess I\u2019ve built up a bit of a reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wallace born and bred, Mr Everard\u2019s decades-long devotion to the dairy industry began when he started working as a 16-year-old at the former Wallace and Millbrook Butter Factory across the road from his family home.<\/p>\n
His father and brother worked there as well, and the factory was also where Mr Everard met his wife, Jenny.<\/p>\n
After working at the factory for much of the 1970s, Mr Everard went from packing milk to delivering it, starting with West End Dairy in 1978, then moving onto Nunn\u2019s Dairy, and finally Sungold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just about missed the glass bottles and horse vintage when I first started,\u201d Mr Everard said.<\/p>\n
At his peak, he\u2019d deliver up to 45,000 litres of milk a day to 50 shops between Wendouree to Delacombe.<\/p>\n
Now that he\u2019s retired, Mr Everard said he\u2019ll be spending his free time with his family, going on bush and silo tours and scorekeeping at Springbank\u2019s home games at Wallace Rec Reserve.<\/p>\n
He said he has a backlog of appointments with his former customers to keep the banter alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be going out to dinner with a lot of the customers to celebrate. Plenty of coffee dates booked up, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met a lot of different people in my life, that many you couldn\u2019t put a finger on it so I\u2019ll certainly miss the company and the friendships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GERRY Everard has unpacked his last milk crate after more than five decades. Following his factory job at the Wallace Dairy factory, Mr Everard delivered milk to shops and businesses throughout Ballarat for over 40 years. He said the thing he\u2019ll miss the most is the interactions with his customers. \u201cI made a lot of […]<\/p>\n