I don’t know if it was my recent article about the 124th NY Volunteers, the Orange Blossoms, or that I had a craving for a bit of sweetness in my normal black coffee in the morning, that when I reached for a can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condense Milk, memories flooded back.

Today if you stop at the local convenience store on the way to work in the morning, you have a variety of additives for your morning jolt of caffeine. You can have French vanilla, caramel, half and half, milk, and the list goes on. Oh, and don’t forget pumpkin spice! If you get a bit fancier, swing into a Starbucks and the combinations are too numerous to count. It wasn’t always this way.

During my childhood, every morning, my Dad would have his two cups of coffee in those old white large ceramic coffee cups before he left for work. Even on the weekends, this was his standard breakfast. Oh, he would add a couple of teaspoons of sugar, but he would never stoop so low as to add milk! Nope! Mom had to always make sure there was a can of Eagle Brand Evaporated Condensed Milk.

If you’ve never had it, you may want to pick up a can and try it. And, if you really have a sweet tooth, there is Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk. It is SWEET! And it pours like molasses on a cold day out of the can. I don’t use either one daily like my Dad, but every so often it’s a nice break from the norm. Using some of this rather than milk in pancake batter has some fascinating results, too.

How did condensed milk originate? Let’s take a look. As always, you know the saying, necessity is the mother of invention.

Gail Borden, Jr. had an interesting walk down the path of life. He was born in 1801, in Norwich, New York. His family moved west, stopping in Kentucky and the Indiana Territory. Gail Jr. eventually moved to Mississippi and then on to Texas where he settled. Accounts state he worked as surveyor, school teacher, farmer, and government official during his meandering about, eventually locating to Texas where he helped establish the first permanent newspaper, the Telegraph and Texas Register. While there as editor, he has been credited with writing that famous headline, “Remember the Alamo!”

Gail’s hobby, and passion, was inventing. He developed a sail powered prairie schooner propelled by the wind which had only marginal success. But, another of his concepts and inventions is still seen today, the lazy Susan. Moving along, he had the idea and concept to develop a lightweight, non-perishable food, suitable for those traveling. This meat biscuit was a dismal, commercial failure, but may have been the catalyst for another, more lucrative venture. This meat biscuit, though a financial loss, resulted in him traveling to London in 1851, at the invitation of Queen Victoria, to receive the Great Council Medal.

On the return voyage, he was dismayed when he watched a number of children die from drinking contaminated milk. The cows on the ship had sea sickness and developed an infectious disease before dying.

Children aboard the ship consumed some of their milk and also perished. At this time, no one knew how to keep milk fresh, and as it spoiled it would even become poisonous. Borden knew the Shakers, a Christian sect, had developed a method using vacuum pans to preserve fruit. Intrigued, he believed there may be a way to adopt this technology so it could be applied to preserve milk. Thus, his experimentation began.

These trials eventually determined milk could be preserved and prevented from spoiling by using a slow heat while under a vacuum. His original thought was that the success was from the removal of water and named his product “condensed milk”. Louis Pasteur later demonstrated it was the heat which killed the bacteria in fresh milk, not the removal of water.

Knowing the monetary potential of his discovery, he pursued a patent for the process. Three times his patent application was rejected. The fourth time was his ticket to fame and on August 19, 1856, the patent was granted. This was only after Robert McFarlane, the editor of Scientific American, and John H. Currie, head of a research laboratory, convinced the commissioner of patents of the value of the process. Never gets easy, does it.

Soon afterward, thrilled with the patent approval, Gail set up a small processing facility at a dairy near Wolcottville, CT and began producing condensed milk. He opened a sales office in New York City to distribute his dream. And, as well all know, the road to success is littered with potholes. Sales were sluggish and the money didn’t roll in. Discouraged, but not defeated, Gail Borden, Jr. returned to Texas to raise more capital. Returning, he established Gail Borden, Jr. and Company in Burrville, CT in 1857.

While still struggling to make this venture a success, Gail met Jeremiah Milbank who was a wholesale grocer, banker and railroad financier. Together, in 1858, they formed the New York Condensed Milk Company.

Whether a stroke of genius, or just a bit of serendipity, Borden decided to advertise their product in an issue of Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly and in the same issue there was an article condemning the unsanitary conditions and unethical business practices of some New York City dairies using additives like chalk and eggs to “enhance” the milk they were peddling to extend its shelf life.

Soon, the New York Condensed Milk Company was delivering condensed milk in the Manhattan and the Jersey City area, with steadily increasing sales. What really skyrocketed the sales was when the U.S.

Government ordered 500 pounds in 1861 to supply the troops engaged in the turmoil of the Civil War. As the war progressed and the conflict expanded, more product was needed and the orders soared. As the demand increased, other facilities were licensed to produce condensed milk to keep up with the demand.

When hostilities ceased, veterans on both sides continued to purchase condensed milk. It was now that the American Bald Eagle trademark logo was added to the label on the can to distinguish it from the competition.

After achieving so much, Gail Borden Jr. passed away in 1874. His two sons assumed the leadership role of the company. In 1875, they began the delivery of fluid milk in New York and New Jersey. In 1885, they were the pioneers of using glass bottles for the delivery of their products. In 1892, they expanded operations to Chicago and began to produce evaporated milk. In 1899, they opened their first foreign based facility in Ontario, Canada. They now had facilities in 18 towns. The year of 1899 also saw the company incorporated into the Borden Condensed Milk Company.

The company continued to expand, both domestically and internationally, and added more products along the way. Attending high school in Wallkill, New York, I was a member of the last class which graduated from the John G. Borden (Gail Borden’s son) High School, which is now the current Middle School. The old buildings nearby are no longer producing product, but there are a number of reminders in our area, including references to Elsie the cow, their mascot, revealed first in 1936. Elsie was an advertising success and rapidly became their trademark in the 1940’s. She was officially trademarked in 1951.