It Happens Here: Sharon Dairy Sees Increase In Demand For Milkmen

SHARON (CBS) - It Happens Here in Sharon. Steeped in history, this community has two downtown churches with bells crafted by Paul Revere. Deborah Sampson became a local legend by disguising herself as a man to fight in the Revolutionary War.

Sampson was likely familiar with a farm on Bay Road that has been around since the 1700s. Today, Crescent Ridge is a dairy and local landmark run by the Parrish family. "My grandfather bought it in 1932, and our family has owned and operated it for 87 years," explained Crescent Ridge President Mark Parrish.

Only a few cows remain in the fields. Today, the milk comes from co-op farmers from New Hampshire and Vermont. It's pasteurized and bottled fresh in classic glass jugs.

The bottles are not the only thing that will remind you of a bygone era. You can still get your milk delivered fresh at your doorstep. "I think our home delivery customers are those who really care about the environment," Parrish said.

The bottles are returned and reused over and over again, with each one potentially keeping hundreds of milk cartons out of landfills.

Crescent Ridge is also about service, and that's where delivery drivers like Matt Prisco come in. (He doesn't love the term milkman, but agrees that's essentially what he is.)

He has come to enjoy spending time with many of his customers. "The older customers really enjoy us," he said. "You do form a relationship."

Prisco drives one of the 11 trucks that cover 4,000 homes inside the 495 belt, and there's a whole lot more than milk in his truck. "Some people won't even get milk at all. We sell everything - laundry detergent, dog treats, anything you can think of," he said. Customers can pick from dozens of grocery items, and they'll even deliver CSA shares from a local farm.

There's also the popular Dairy Bar, which serves up dozens of flavors of ice cream year-round. It's busiest in the summer when about a dozen high school students scoop thousands of cones every day. (I tried the coffee and mocha chip. Yummy.)

For Prisco, this may not be a forever job, but he's loving it for now, even though he answers a 3:30 a.m. alarm. "People say, 'You probably get used to it, right?'" he said.

Not exactly, according to Prisco. Something all of us on the WBZ This Morning can relate to.