A little note in the e-mail in-box called to our attention the fact that Mayfield Dairy, just up Interstate 75 in Athens, Tenn., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
Though there is not an exact date back in 1910 to which the company traces its origins, it was during that year that T.B. Mayfield bought a few dozen Jersey cows and started a milk route to Athens customers. Some years later, he expanded into the ice cream business — a decision for which many sweet tooths in the nine Southeastern states Mayfield Dairy now serves are no doubt grateful.
Pasteurization and other advances followed, and Mr. Mayfield’s three sons took over operations after his death in 1937. Today, a third generation leads the company’s 1,500-plus employees, and Mayfield has milk and ice cream plants in Athens, as well as a milk plant in Braselton, Ga., and an ice cream plant in Birmingham, Ala. It sells about 70 million gallons of milk and 30 million gallons of ice cream each year, and the Athens and Braselton plants are popular tourist spots.
Mayfield has become something of an institution in the region over the past century, and we wish the company many more successful years.