THOMASVILLE — Thousands of people a day pass the large milk carton standing in the middle of a field on U.S. Hwy 84 just east of Thomasville, but few probably know its origin.

According to Linda Glaze of Valdosta, she and her father built the milk carton in her backyard in Cairo in 1957 for Dairyland Dairies.

Her father, Thomas J. Glaze, said after they poured the cement base and erected the masonite milk carton, “This thing will be here long after I’m dead and gone.”

And it is.

Thomas J. Glaze was an engineer with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad at the time and worked on the side as a sign painter. He was a self-made artist who never made much money or received very much recognition, but he was responsible for several iconic images and one long-lasting structure.

Linda Glaze that he was the artist who developed the script “Coca-Cola” on the side of Coke bottles and “The Pause that Refreshes” advertisement featuring a woman holding a bottle. He was paid a grand total of $25 for both, she said.

One of his advertisements was on the wall of the Homerville theater for years.

She said, “I’m proud that he did these things and sorry that he never got much recognition. It’s nice that he’s getting a little recognition now.”