We lived in the Rosemount / Ville St Michel area of Montreal. In the wee hours of the morning we would leave home and head for the dairy, downtown on Colborne entering the dairy, via the back off Shannon St. We would arrive there around 0430 hrs to load the truck. Dad had an old dodge box truck for delivery. Once loaded we headed out west via St Catherine to Clairmont where we had our 1st customer. Through the day we worked our way west serving customers and stores in Westmount, NDG Montreal west. We did Johnny's Pastry Shop where we delivered canned cream, there was always a fresh donut to be had there. That was on Cavendish. We did door to door, apartments, houses, duplexes, throughout the area. A lot of Jewish people lived in the area so we carried kosher milk and products during their religious celebrations. Prominent establishments in the area were, the old Lyola college campus, West Hill high school the only high school with its own swimming pool numerous delis that served great smoked meat sandwiches. We had two restaurant/ delis to deliver to along with the Wentworth golf course, now named Meadowbrook golf course. They had good food there. I remember great ham sandwiches. Our route ended on Westmore and Sherbrooke at the corner where we delivered products. They had great smoked meat sandwiches, with fries that’s the way we ended our delivery day. I fondly remember those smoked meats, they were super. This was a confectionery / restaurant /deli. I believe the store name was Westmore. After eating it was back to the dairy where I unloaded the bottles/returns/ and unsold products while dad did the book work in the office. During the warmer months we would wander over to watch the ice cream being made and those guys always had an ice cream bar for us. From there we wandered back home where a pizza and a Montreal Canadiens hockey game on TV was in order. A good night’s sleep after a good long day was the next order of business. I enjoyed my experiences on the milk truck.I developed a good work ethic as a result. Once Cousins was sold we eventually were moved to Bordens on Cote de Liesse where we picked up our milk and goods for delivery. The biggest hassle we had was in the summer as we did not have a refrigerated truck so it was finding ice and dodging the milk inspectors checking for the temperature of our milk. Those Montreal summer days could be hot and the ice melted fast. It was a great experience. Never to be forgotten, my dad has passed on, he was a hard working man who always did his best. His name was Lenford William Hoskins, his name was proudly displayed on his Bordens truck but not on the Cousins truck. He eventually did get a refrigerated truck with Bordens. My brother worked with my dad as well as our Uncle Bob Simpson, who also delivered for Cousins in the Verdun / La Salle area.
