Rockview Dairy

After I moved away from my hometown back in 1980, the memories slowly faded over the years into romantic watercolor pictures, replacing many of the stark realities that drew me away from there. Though I love my life in Tennessee, I have a fondness for my Orange County upbringing. There is a group on Facebook I visit every so often called Fullerton Memories. I can search for information there about my hometown, reading idyllic posts of others who once called it home. As an adult, things seem smaller than they did as a kid. Everything seemed so much bigger then. Sometimes our adult eyes spoil the charm of our recollections. Still, there are bigger-than-life memories that never change. We had this drive-thru grocery store, not even a quarter-mile from my home. To visit there was a treat, and a wonderful adventure for a kid like me.

Rockview Dairy was a staple for those too lazy to actually get out of the car for milk, bread or cigarettes. The idea was novel and basically preceded the burger eat-on-the-run phenomenon we take for granted today. The Rockview guy would greet you from the driver-side door at the opening of the enclosed breezeway to take your order. On the passenger-side you could watch the workers through a window filling clear glass bottles with milk, held neatly together in quads by metal wire carriers (The dairy also made deliveries to homes--but for some reason, the Harvills always journeyed out to procure our dairy needs). After the items were gathered, the bell on the manual cash register signaled the final heat of the adventure. After cash and coin were exchanged, we headed out of the breezeway, into the sun. On days when dad took us to the beach, leaving mom to a quiet house, we drove through Rockview for a gallon of their delectable fruit punch and a pound of frosted animal cookies.

One day, several years ago, I took a trip to visit my old neighborhood. As I drove down Orangethorpe, I noticed something missing on the left side of the street, across from where Owl Rexall used to be. I realized that Rockview Dairy was a vacant lot. It was gone...and nobody asked for my permission to tear it down. I guess some new project was more important to the property owner than the dairy. I will miss that old place. The concept of drive-thru grocery shopping still seems cutting edge to me. Maybe someone will resurrect the idea, serve the lazy masses, and create wonder in the eyes of children from a new generation.

Rockview Dairy on Orangethorpe in Fullerton, CA.
This photo was the last time I saw it in 2000.