Remember the MILK-MAN

Colby White begins his days well before the sun has a chance to rise.

By 12:15 a.m., White is already well into his workday. He loads up his belongings in his big white truck and begins the drive from his home outside Pell City to Irondale, where he picks up what he'll deliver for the day. 

White is Mountain Brook's very own milkman. He owns and operates Colby's Creamery. The bold black lettering painted on the side of his truck is reminiscent of "old time service."

In his profession, rising early is key. His stop at Borden's Dairy warehouse is followed by 2 a.m. solitary drives up and down the villages of Mountain Brook. He is responsible for ensuring as many as 30 families in the area awaken Friday mornings to fresh milk and a variety of other dairy products.

"It's my passion," said White. "I have a passion for serving people."

Last week, AL.com rode along with White while he delivered fresh goods to his customers. Inside his truck, a delivery van he bought in Washington State and drove back to Alabama, it was clear White delivers much more to the community than fresh dairy.

Originally from California, White began delivering milk at the age of 10. By the time he was a senior in high school, he had his very own milk delivery business.

After taking a short hiatus from the dairy business, White and his family moved to Alabama in 1997, where he worked first at Barber's Dairy. When Barber's discontinued home delivery services, White saw an opportunity to once again set out on his own. 

Today, he delivers to about 50 homes every week between his customers in Mountain Brook and others in Pell City. It's a service he has provided now for about a year-and-a-half, delivering a variety of Borden Dairy products including fresh and flavored milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and eggs. He also delivers steak, bacon, chicken, sausage and pork chops from Royal Foods in Pell City. In the past, he has also delivered smoked hams for Christmas and Easter.

The quiet, early-morning hours do not bother him, he said, even though it caused some confusion in the beginning.

On one of his first delivery runs through Mountain Brook, White said Mountain Brook Police pulled him over in the dark. White said he gladly opened up his truck and offered the officers a pint of chocolate milk.

"Now they just wave," he said.

White said he prefers delivering early in the morning, when it is easier to maneuver a big truck along tiny neighborhood streets.

During every solitary delivery run, White says he knows he is connecting with people despite the empty streets.

"I know I am serving husband and wife couples who both work and might be too busy to stop at the store, elderly individuals who have a hard time leaving their home, pregnant women and busy moms," said White.

In his years delivering dairy products, White said he has been invited into people's homes more than once.

"They'll bring out the cinnamon rolls and coffee," he said, "and invite me in."

It's an experience he much prefers over the wholesale deliveries he has also done in the past.

"There's something about getting close to people," he said, "it's different. Getting to know someone more personally allows me to serve them better."

White's customers pay a $3 delivery fee plus the price of the products they order. A half-gallon of milk, for example, costs $3.62; a 12oz package of Royal bacon costs $3.87, according to the Colby's Creamery website.

In the days of convenience stores and big box stores, White continues to believe in the value of home delivery.

"One of our mottos is "Service is our freshest idea,"' said White. "The milk I deliver I pick up that morning. It doesn't go into a freezer at the back of a store where it sits until what's on the shelf is gone. We also believe we are saving people money, as well as time. How many times have you walked into a grocery store for milk and ended up buying a lot more? Or realized on your way home from a long day at work that you are out of milk?"

White said he doesn't mind working hard for the people he serves; it's how he is built.

"Any customer is welcome to ask me for any Borden or Royal product," said White, "and I'll do my best to provide it."

Eventually, said White, he'd like to expand his business and serve even more people.

In the meantime, White works several jobs in construction and custodial work to help care for his wife and three kids. His middle son, he said, often rides along with his dad delivering products. His oldest, a senior in college, will be the first in his family to earn a college degree.

"It's what I'm all about," said White, "milk and the church."