There are at least 15 different Alberta and Saskatchewan “Purity” milk bottle tops that I have seen over the last couple of years. Quite a few of them do not have location information on them, so it is not immediately obvious which dairy used them. Never one to duck a challenging research topic, I have plunged in and offer the following observations.
Purity Dairy, Lethbridge was founded by Simoni Fabbi in 1923. It was later expanded to Medicine Hat, Calgary, Edmonton, & Cranbrook, B.C. In its later operating period, the company’s head office was located in Edmonton. The pictured tops numbered 1, 2, 3, and 8 are earlier wide mouth bottle tops. Topsy Chocolate Drink was a brand name licensed to several dairies. Palm Dairies and Weyburn Dairy also used the Topsy name for their chocolate drink. Creamo is easily recognized as a Purity Lethbridge product, since it also appeared prominently on the dairy’s bottles.
Tops numbered 13, 14, & 15, are identified with the head office in Edmonton. Number 13 and 14 are 38 mm in diameter and may have been used on the plastic bottles made and used by the Edmonton/Lethbridge Purity Dairy. I have seen these plastic bottles in the past, but do not recall details of the pouring spout. Top 15 is 33 mm in diameter and was used on the lighter weight narrow mouth milk bottles.
The attractive tops 4 and 12 are attributed to the Independent Purity Dairy that operated in Prince Albert, Sask., from 1932 to 1947. Shirley Devonshire was the proprietor during that period. She sold the dairy in 1947 to KAI Anderson and Chris Vogt, who changed its name to Prince Albert Dairy.
Milk bottle tops 5 and 6, narrow mouth bottle size, were used by the Dairy Producers Co-operative Ltd., after the merger of the Dairy & Poultry Pool and Saskatchewan Co-operative Creamery Association. The image of the exercising figure with the cup in the background was used on plastic dairy tokens by The Dairy Pool and Purity Dairy.
It is interesting to note that the Dairy Producers Co-operative was using these tops on plain bottles. Narrow mouth bottles with dairy names on them were used in Alberta and B.C., but to date I have not seen any from Saskatchewan or Manitoba.
The tops with the Primrose, 7 and 9, are attributed to the Saskatoon Purity Dairy operation after its sale to the Dairy and Poultry Pool in 1952. The Primrose flower and the brand “Primrose Products” had been used on bottles, cheese boxes and gowiths (promotional material) by The Dairy Pool.
Milk bottle tops 10 and 11 appear to be a little earlier and are from 1929 to 1952 when Purity Saskatoon and Purity Regina were one entity controlled by the Dairy Corporation. Purity Dairy, Regina, later became a unit of Silverwood’s.
If any reader has information differing from the above I would be pleased to hear from you. In the meantime, good luck with your collecting!
Would you happened to have any information about the Edmonton branch of purity dairies history. ie: the address, years it operated, pictures etc. I worked there as a milkman back in the late ’60’s early 70’s but I don’t recall alot about them Thanks, Les