Granville Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Purity Dairy

Historic Granville’s Heritage Day on May 24th was a celebration rich in tradition and taste, marking the 100th Anniversary of Purity Dairy.

Purity Dairy was established in 1926 as Ezell’s Dairy by Miles Ezell Sr. with 80 rented cows, a rented farm, and rented equipment. With quality products, hard work, and tenacity, the Ezells transformed their family dairy into a modern dairy company. In 1926 approximately 200 hundred dairies were in Davidson County, but in the 1940s, the public health requirement for pasteurization reduced that number to 17.  Among the survivors was Ezell’s Purity Dairy. It built a new milk plant in 1945 and then formally incorporated as Purity Dairies in 1946.

In the 1950s and 1960s the Ezells bought out their strongest competitors, including Richmond Pure Milk Company, Swiss Dairy Farm, and Murfreesboro Pure Milk Company, thereby strengthening Purity’s position in the dairy industry. During the 1960s and 1970s, Purity produced memorable advertising characters such as the punching cow and kangaroo, “Sgt. Glory,” and Ernest P. Worrell’s “Know what I mean Vern?” to interest customers in the quality of Purity products.

These strong business and advertising philosophies produced and still maintain Purity’s number one status in the milk business, while continuing its heritage as a traditional family dairy. In 1998 Dean Foods acquired Purity but allows management and decision-making to stay at the Nashville headquarters.

Adding a special touch to the festivities was Tennessee’s Commissioner of Tourism and former Purity Dairy CEO and Owner, Mark Ezell.  Mr. Ezell had previously presented the Farm to Your Table Museum with a Purity Dairy milk truck which is enjoyed by our visitors throughout the year.  On this occasion, Mark Ezell honored the occasion with a remarkable gift: a vintage driver’s cap once worn by one of the original Purity milk truck drivers. The donation now proudly takes its place in the museum’s collection, connecting a century of farm-fresh goodness to Granville’s living history.

In honor of the day, local potter and Granville artisan, Jay Frankenfield, created a decorated 100th Anniversary milk pitcher for Mr. Ezell and David Brooks who was on hand for the celebration because of his donation of a milk bottle collection which is permanently housed in the Museum.

Pictured at the celebration left to right is Jackson County Mayor, Jim Morgan; Shan Stout, Putnam County Director of Tourism; Randall Clemons, President of Granville Museum; Mark Ezell, Tennessee Commission of Tourism and David Brooks, owner of Ligon & Bobo Funeral Home in Lebanon.  The Farm to Your Table Museum is open Wednesday – Saturday and is included with nine other venues included in your Town Tour.