This week our series on Clear Lake dairies continues. Clear Lake Dairy was one of the five dairies to serve Clear Lake. This small operation was started by John Dawson (photo attached), a self-made man who lived on Section 8 of Lake Township.
Mr. Dawson was born in Lincolnshire, England in 1843. His first job in England was to pick potatoes for 6 cents a day. He married in 1866 and he and his wife had four children. In 1872, he left England for America, however, he left his family in England. His plan was to set up a farm and send for his family later. Landing in Quebec, Canada with $2.03 in his pocket, he made his way to New York state where he found employment on a farm. By 1873, he had enough money saved to send for his family. Once the family arrived, they moved west to Iowa and settled in Cerro Gordo county. At first, he rented land to farm in Lake Township. By 1882 he had saved enough to purchase 150 acres in the township. He planted corn and worked hard to improve his land and planted corn, averaging 70 bushels per acre.
He launched into the dairy business and found that he was able to make a great profit between farming and his dairy herds. In 1903, he turned over management of his dairy operation to his daughter, Alice Charlotte Dawson. 
Mr. Dawson had taught his daughter well so that she understood the detail that was necessary to operate a dairy. She handled the responsibility well and closely monitored every detail of the work. She milked the cows, personally delivered the milk to her customers and proved that she was very competent in handling the finances. Clear Lake Dairy was quite successful. Alice married a hired hand on the farm, Frederick Gentry, in July 1911. Her father, Mr. Dawson, died in 1911 and his daughter operated the farm until the mid 1940s.