On its first day in business in 1931, Hazel’s Dairy in Falls Church sold a measly 13 quarts of milk—not the most promising beginning. Many households relied on other local farms for dairy products, including those owned by the Reeves and Marcey families. But the competition didn’t stop entrepreneur William Andrew Hazel from opening his business near Sleepy Hollow Road with his sons, Thomas and Richard.
To market their Grade A milk, cream and other products delivered in clear glass bottles, the Hazels placed a series of ads in local newspapers, touting that they could deliver to “All Arlington Homes.” One ad featured the company’s distinctive delivery trucks, called The Silver Fleet. Another depicted America’s most famous geyser alongside the headline, “As Dependable as Old Faithful.” Within a couple of years, they acquired two more dairy companies.
In 1936, amid the Great Depression, Hazel’s Dairy defied a Virginia Milk Commission regulation designed to maintain fair pricing. The rule required dairies to sell milk at 14 cents a quart—two cents more than the price Hazel’s had charged for five years straight.
William Hazel defended his position in an open letter in The Northern Virginia Sun before thanking his customers. “Your support is most encouraging to us in our fight for the right to operate our business and sell our product at a price which we consider most equitable,” he wrote, “and at the same time allows us to make a living.”
In October 1937, some 400 Arlingtonians showed up to witness a contentious meeting with the dairy commission at the Arlington County courthouse. Hazel pled his case but was unable to sway officials and was forced to raise his prices.
Four years later, following a milk union labor dispute involving many local dairies, the Hazels sold their operation to another company.
But the Hazel family name continued to impact the local economy. Decades later, a descendant, John T. “Til” Hazel, made a name for himself not in dairy products, but as a real estate developer and advocate of building projects including George Mason University’s Arlington campus—where today you can buy a 14-ounce bottle of milk at the Mason Square Café for $4.10.