Melvin Dell

The Dell name is a highly respected name in Niagara. The cemetery bearing the Dell name is at the corner of Reixinger Rd at Dell Rd. In 1796, Henry Dell petitioned for land as a loyalist soldier. In 1851 he deeded one acre to the Methodist Episcopal church, to be known as the Dell Chapel & Cemetery.

Melvin Dell was the son or Richard and Marjorie Dell. He was born on 6 March 1890 in Willoughby Township and received his schooling there. Until he was twenty one he worked on his father’s farm. He then spent three years working in the store of his uncle, Adin Bell, in Niagara Falls. From there he worked for eight years in the business of W.H. Martin in Niagara Falls.

At that point Dell decided to go into business for himself, establishing a dairy on Orchard Avenue. He owned only one horse, one wagon and one cow, but by 1930 he had built quite a sizable milk business with five wagons and five men working for him. In the second year of his operation he had set up his business with the latest equipment including two glass lined tanks
with a capacity of 2160 quarts daily and the equipment needed for pasteurizing the milk. He could boast that after pasteurization the milk was never touched by human hand until it reached the customer’s table. In seven years his business had grown to fifteen times its first year sales. The company dealt primarily with Jersey milk with the result that the product tested five points higher than government regulations required. The health inspector pronounced it the cleanest dairy in Niagara Falls.

Melvin Dell was married first to Maude Irene Baker with whom he had a son, Ross Melvin. After her death he married Marguerite, daughter of Raymond and Alice Green, and their children were Marion Gordon and Marjorie.

Melvin Dell was an active member of the United Church and an outstanding citizen. He wasconsidered to have made a significant contribution to the community of Niagara.

see A.E. Coombs History of the Niagara Peninsula p 344

By Fred Habermehl