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History
of Liberty Distributing Inc. |
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Joseph Inderbitzin was born February 16, 1894 in Ingenbohl, Switzerland,
spent his entire life working in dairy farming, just as his father had in Switzerland.
When Joseph Inderbitzin came to the United States from Switzerland in March of 1914
at age 20, he saw something that he'd never forget as he sailed into the port of
New York- the Statue of Liberty. |
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Inderbitzin's first job in Tacoma was on a dairy farm owned by the
Henry Felchlin family. The farm was located near what is now Custer road and Bridgeport
Way in Lakewood. Inderbitzin partnered with Joe Marty, a school friend from
Switzerland, to begin a dairy farm. But the partnership ended when Marty moved to
California and Inderbitzin temporarily went to work for Flett Dairy. |
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On January 14, 1922, Inderbitzin married Edna Bloom, whom he had
met while delivering milk at a restaurant where she worked. Born in San Francisco
in 1905, she moved with her parents to Tacoma shortly before the devastating earthquake
that shook San Francisco. Just a year after being married, Joe and Edna Inderbitzin
bought a herd of dairy cows and leased a 40-acre farm near Puyallup on Clarkes Creek
to start Liberty Dairy. He named his new business Liberty Dairy because he had been
so impressed by the sight of the statue on Ellis Island and the principles it stands
for. They bottled milk and sold it primarily in the Tacoma area. |
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In 1948 Joe Inderbitzin rented the old Glenwood dairy farm on Brookdale
Road near Parkland. A year later Joe Inderbitzin died in an accident on the farm.
Two of his three sons, Ed and Dick, bought the delivery routes but were unable to
buy the herd, for they had already been sold. |
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Ed, the eldest son, owned and operated this home delivery business
from 1949-1983. Ed Jr. began working in the family business as a teenager in 1961,
and in 1983, took over the business and changed it from home delivery service to
a wholesale distributorship. The business has grown to include delivery to all parts
of Western Washington, providing quality services by a great team of employees. |
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Ed Jr.'s sons, Eddy and Alex, who began by loading delivery trucks
during the summers and on weekends, have been an integral part of the business.
They have become the fourth generation of Inderbitzins to own Liberty, a business
that has grown because of its ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction.
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