The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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    Dairy lovers

October 23, 2007

Milk moustaches pay off for family

Olingers of St. Peter win national contest

By Mark Fischenich

ST PETER — Randy Olinger called his wife, Cara, shortly after they were married three years ago, to ask if she needed him to pick anything up on his way home. Cara told him the newly blended family of nine was out of milk, so he came home with a gallon.

Cara Olinger said he knows better now.

“We buy about six to eight gallons of milk at a time,” she said.

The St. Peter family’s fondness for milk was one factor in the Olinger-Blaschko clan being named one of 25 prize winners in a national contest sponsored by the dairy industry. They came up dry in their quest for a free trip to Disney World but won five chef-prepared meals, with milk, valued at $1,000.

The family submitted photos of the seven milk-moustached kids at the farm of a family friend — one in the pasture, one in the second-floor door of the barn and one with a trio of dairy cows.

The kids, ranging in age from 8 to 15, each have plainly evident versions of the white upper lip made famous by the industry’s Got Milk? campaign, which typically uses celebrities as its models. The key to getting such solid milk mustaches?

“Heavy whipping cream,” Cara Olinger said, “which the kids were none-too-pleased with.”

While they thought a lip full of cream was a bit disgusting for them and they weren’t so energetic about the photo shoot, they were happy with the results.

“They’re so excited. They think it’s great,” she said. “They’re telling everybody, ‘We’re going to have a chef for a week.’”

Details are still coming on who will be cooking the five meals and what they will be, but the chef will visit their home to prepare the food each day, Cara said, possibly in December. Randy does most of the cooking, so the vacation from cooking will largely be his.

As for the potential trip to Florida, the kids aren’t going to miss out. Cara Olinger works for Curves International, the women’s fitness center, and will be attending a company convention in Orlando next month. Randy will be flying down with the kids at the end of the convention for a family vacation. And Disney World is on the itinerary.

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