Jim Janssen has a deep connection to Twin Pines Dairy Farm milk.

He is a former milkman and the son, nephew and grandson of milkmen who delivered Twin Pines milk and other products to homes across Metro Detroit, including Royal Oak, Birmingham and other Oakland County communities.

After years of working for the cooperative and later collecting Twin Pines memorabilia, the former Berkley resident is donating a prized possession to the Detroit Historical Museum.On Friday, Jim will hand over the original Creamy puppet, a rabbit made with real white fur, used during the dairy’s popular television show, “Milky’s Party Time,” hosted by Milky the Clown.

Jim’s grandfather, Christian Janssen, immigrated to Detroit from the Netherlands and delivered for the Borden Company, now known as Borden Dairy, until an unfulfilled promise to repaint delivery trucks led him and his brother to Twin Pines Farm Dairy, said Jim Janssen.

“My grandfather ended up with all the routes west of Woodward and north of 14 Mile Road,” he told The Oakland Press.

His uncle handled Macomb County routes and lived in St. Clair Shores. Jim Janssen’s dad, Art, moved to Berkley and drove many Oakland County routes. Jim helped his dad “from the time I could carry a quart bottle,” he said, and later had his own Twin Pines route.

“In those houses around Maple and Adams streets, it was all doctors and lawyers and guys like (sportscaster) Al Kaline and (Red Wings great) Gordie Howe,” he said. “Those customers said to come into the house and fill the fridge. It was a very profitable job.”

By the late 1950s, the Twin Pines brand was so popular, the company had its own TV show hosted by Milky the Clown, portrayed by part-time magician Clarence R. Cummings. He entertained with jokes, magic tricks and shared safety messages for children with the help of his puppet friend, Creamy.

The show lasted through the mid-1960s. Convenience stores and cars ended Twin Pines’ home-delivery business by the mid-1970s.

Jim Janssen went off to Vietnam in 1965 with the U.S. Marines and when he returned four years later delivered milk for Melody Dairy to area schools and Danny Food Markets in and around Dearborn. Janssen also began collecting Twin Pines memorabilia: glass milk bottles, crates, drinking glasses and T-shirts featuring Milky the Clown, and toy Divco delivery trucks.

In 2006, he found the original Creamy puppet, for sale by Cummings’ daughter, Peggy Tibbetts. He bought the puppet, which arrived with a notarized certificate of authentication signed by Tibbetts.

Jim Janssen’s son, Jeremy Janssen, a medical doctor who lives in Maryland, has possessed Creamy for years but he can’t recall if the puppet arrived when his dad downsized for a move to Florida or North Carolina.

Dr. Jeremy Janssen, 54, remembers riding in his dad’s milk truck as a youngster and like his dad, continues to be a big milk drinker.

He organized Creamy’s donation and will be with his dad and other family members on Friday at the museum.

It’s important for Creamy to be back in Michigan where people can see it, he said.

“People appreciate milk men and all that, but Twin Pines is special to Michigan” he said. “We wanted Creamy back in his home state.”

Jim Janssen still has the Twin Pines 1959 personnel directory with all the drivers’ names and considers it one of his prized possessions.

Jim Janssen has memories of riding in trucks with his dad and grandfather, of the scent of fresh milk, the cold bottles and the weight of the cases. He laughs at thoughts of the annual Twin Pines company picnics in Utica. The company rented the entire park. All the rides, food and drinks were free that day.

The Janssens said they’re looking forward to being back in Detroit on Friday to bring Creamy home.