For 40 years, Dave Myhre – you might have called him the Schwan’s man – has driven a yellow truck and delivered ice cream, frozen food, and treats directly to the doorsteps of thousands of families. On Thursday, November 8, Dave finished his route early and took a final spin around Milbank. The company was shutting down after 72 years, and Dave was retiring. He had sold his last pint of Yelloh ice cream – still more commonly known as Schwan’s– and the back of his truck was empty. There was just time for a quick chat before his final trip back to headquarters in Marshall, Minnesota, to permanently park his truck.
After ice cream, Schwan’s drivers and their vehicles were a special point of pride for the company. At one point, Schwan’s had the largest fleet of refrigerated trucks in the nation. Schwan’s vehicles were also believed to be the world’s largest privately-owned fleet of medium-duty trucks. The company also had held the distinction of operating the world’s largest fleet of propane-powered vehicles. Schwan’s had accomplished that feat by establishing a subsidiary that manufactured liquid propane electronic fuel injection conversion systems that allowed stock gasoline engines to burn propane.
Each Schwan’s truck traveled more than 25,000 miles a year, and drivers were known as route managers because they not only drove the vehicles, but also sold goods.
Schwan’s home delivery was started in Marshall, Minnesota, a town of 300 people, in 1952. It is ironic that the company that pioneered the original grocery delivery service (after the milkman) took a swan dive while the concept continues to thrive and grow in every large city in America. Dave offered several theories on what went wrong after the company rebranded to Yelloh and the debates over the coulda-woulda-shouldas have been swirling for a month of “sundaes.”
Rarely, however, did the blame land on the company’s recipe for customer service. The once 100-percent family-owned company was built on direct and personalized service, and Schwan’s counted on their drivers to be the face of their business. Unlike Instacart, Walmart, or Amazon, Schwan’s drivers didn’t ring the doorbell and leave. “The best part of the job was the customers,” Dave said.
Dave had a knack for remembering his shoppers and their preferences, too, and getting to know the kids, and even the neighborhood pets. In the old days, drivers were given more liberties and were often invited in or allowed to use house keys to put things in freezers and pick up money left on the counter.
This Thanksgiving, “Schwan’s” ice cream will no longer be topping pumpkin pies. There’ll be no stockpiling of the limited edition and holiday favorite peppermint ice cream. And no hope that Dave has hid his last pint until he got to your house because he knew you would be disappointed if he ran out. Dave and Schwan’s ice cream might never return to Milbank, but let’s invite them to visit in spirit this holiday season and the days beyond. Life is uncertain; eat dessert first.
Staff
