In 1940 two farmers owned the Red Rose Dairy with some of the finest Guernsey cows in the country. It was located at 125 South Center Street in Northville. John McGuire had completed a dairy program at Michigan Agricultural College (MSU) and was looking for an opportunity to use the formula he developed to produce ice cream, chocolate milk, buttermilk, sour cream and eggnog. He was hired to run the dairy on May 5, 1940. They renamed it Guernsey Farms Dairy.

John worked long days. He picked up milk from farms before most people were out of bed, brought it to the dairy, pasteurized it and delivered it to customers before supper. After supper he returned to the dairy and made ice cream with his wife, Pat. Some days seemed to begin before the previous one had ended.

In 1945, John McGuire and Fred Russell bought Guernsey Farms Dairy, and in 1952 John McGuire bought Fred's share. "From then on it was a family-run dairy," recalls John McGuire. His business philosophy was simple and continues to guide Guernsey Farms Dairy today: "Produce good products, maintain the quality and give good service in delivering them to the customers."

John and Pat McGuire wanted a big family and the dairy provided the necessities for their fourteen children: Tom, Pat, Jim, Mary, Peg, Hugh, Joe, Mike, Fran, Lucy, Rita, Marty, Paul and Karen. All fourteen have had extensive work experience in the dairy. The kids also helped make ice cream, bottle milk and work as jumpers on the home delivery milk routes.

Old timers may recall the little wooden frame store next to the dairy at the foot of the Center Street hill in Northville. They'll remember the thick malts and huge cones the McGuire kids used to make. As the dairy grew some family members moved on while others stayed and helped move the dairy to its location in Novi on the northern border of Northville, in 1966. To this day Guernsey Farms Dairy remains a family-run dairy using the formula and philosophy John developed.