Delano Creamery
Located on River Street South
Line drawing for the Eagle’s Special Holiday Edition, 1898.
The following excerpt is from a letter to the Delano Eagle, published January 6, 1921, in a special section of Reminiscences of Delano, written by C. G. Roosen, talking about how he started the creamery in Delano:
“But I had real pleasure with the start of the Creamery in the spring of 1895. Those were hard times for everybody, especially for the farmers. Hogs, live weight, 2 ½ cents, rye 20 cents, wheat 50 cents and up, homemade butter 8 cents in trade; except to a few who had regular customers in Minneapolis the year found. I had been told that in the southern part of the state co-operative farmers’ creameries had been very successful and given universal satisfaction. I talked this matter over with Professor Haecker of the Agricultural college, and he advised me to arrange a meeting of the farmers at Delano. This meeting was attended by about one hundred farmers and was addressed by myself and Prof. Haecker. I had several subscription lists prepared which I handed to farmers residing in different directions from Delano and I asked them to interview their neighbors and have those who would be willing to take shares of $50.00 each in a co-operative creamery sign their names. I called a meeting in one week to get reports and take further steps. At the end of the week I had only three shares signed for.
I was much disappointed for I knew there were cows enough in the surrounding country to make the creamery a success if properly handled and I hated to let the matter fail and decided to investigate further, and if I felt encouraged to do so, start the creamery myself.
So I visited Owatonna, Albert Lea, and smaller towns near there. Everybody I talked with, hotel men, storekeepers, drivers and farmers, said “creameries are the best thing in the country.” Then the only thing to do was to decide on the size of the building, where and what machinery to buy, and take on an efficient buttermaker.
Mr. Swan Erickson built the creamery, Fargo and Co. furnished the machinery, and Mr. Chas. Kaemmerse became the efficient and popular buttermaker.
The opening of the creamery took place in early June, when everybody had plenty of milk and we received enough milk in June, July, and August to do a fair business for the one separator.
After that the few patrons I had had little milk left and the business seemed to run the course predicted by many of the larger farmers when they told me “Friend Roosen, now you are going into a business you know nothing about. You will never get my milk. I have too good an outlet the year round at 20 or 25 cents a pound in Minneapolis.” I could name a half dozen well-known and prominent farmers who spoke like that at that time. One year later, however, I heard from none of these “I told you so.”
Coming back to August 1895, the milk receipts were next to nothing and even my good friend Edwin Kelsey told me “I guess you will have to close the creamery for the winter.” It was up to me to get busy. I visited farm after farm trying to get the farmers to undertake joint hauling of milk to the creamery but I was generally met with the reply “let my neighbors come and see me about this.” I had to get a start in another way. I hired, I think, three farmers’ teams of different directions and paid them $45.00 a month to make daily trips to the creamery and pick up milk cans on their routes. Then I took my buggy loaded with new milk cans, many afternoons, and visited the good farmers wives and asked them to try and send the milk one month on trial. I left a milk can which cost $1.75 and agreed to take it back if after one month’s trial they did not want to send milk any longer. I do not remember ever getting one of those cans back.
When December came I received so much milk that I had to install a second De Laval separator. The price I paid the farmers for the month of December, 21 cents per pound of butter fat, was quite satisfactory at that time and I was enabled to obtain a better profit on the investment than I had figured on.
After three years the farmers naturally desired to own the creamery to which they faithfully hauled the milk and I did the best for everybody, myself included, and sold out my interest to them.”
(from The Delano Eagle, September 19, 1907)
“The new creamery building is now completed and the board of directors will have a meeting this week to settle with the contractors. Secretary Ziebarth is planning arrangements for a big meeting of the stockholders, patrons and farmers generally, to be held soon, when able speakers from the University will be present and deliver addresses. It is Mr. Ziebarth’s intention to increase patronage of the creamery to a great number as the capacity of the concern is now such that it will be able to handle nearly double what it has been doing.”
(from The Great Northwestern Magazine, Wright County Edition, December 1909)
“Since the advent of the Delano Creamery Association ten years ago, the business has made rapid strides, until now the concern ranks among the leading manufacturing and shipping industries in this section of Minnesota. During this time the company has gained a reputation for itself as a loyal booster for Delano in fact, the association claims the unique distinction of being the originators of the phrase “Boost for the best town in the county.” The company started on a small scale, at first simply handling the milk of a few farmers, but with its rapid growth new improvements have been added, and this summer completed a new building 36x46 and an addition 30x40, at a cost of $7,000, thus affording the association a home second to none in the state of Minnesota. The plant, buildings and holdings have grown from a small concern to an industry with buildings and equipment worth in the neighborhood of $12,000. Their product is shipped for the most part to New York City, where it sells always at top notch figures, thus insuring its hundreds of staunch farmer friends the most money obtainable for their milk and cream. Mr. Mat Schaust is the president, ably assisted by Wm. Ziebarth in the capacity of secretary and manager. The mere statement of the fact that Mr. Ziebarth has to do with the business end of this company gives assurance of success. Its members were fortunate in securing his services in so important a position. Mr. Ziebarth has been honored time and again by the voters of Delano and Wright County in his selection to offices of importance and trust, not the least of which was his election as a member of the board of county commissioners. He is also vice-president of the State Bank of Delano and stands high in the estimation of all its people.
(from The History of Wright County, Vol. II, 1915):
“C.G. Roosen, then a resident banker of Delano, built and equipped a plant and commenced operating in the spring of 1895. December 20, 1897, the Delano Co-operative Creamery Association was organized by Edwin Kelsey, Louis Bock, Carl Schroeder, Christian Buch, Joseph Muckenhirn, Joseph Kelsey, Louis Kespohl, John Matter and Math. Schaust. February 1, 1898, this association purchased the building and entire equipment of Mr. Roosen, and took immediate possession, employing Charles Kramer as buttermaker and Nels Sandberg as helper. This was the beginning of what is today a prosperous farmers’ co-operative institution, owned and managed by farmers. In 1907 the old structure was replaced by a large and well-equipped brick building. The old-fashioned creamery appliances have been replaced by new and modern machinery, and now ranks will among the most up-to-date creameries in the state. The present buttermaker is Emil G. Oman, whose make of butter is of the finest quality and scores exceptionally high in scoring contests, proving him to be a buttermaker of exceptional ability. At the convention of the National Creamery Buttermakers’ Association, held in Mason City, Iowa, in March 1915, he was declared to be the champion buttermaker of the country by the committee of awards. The creamery has an average of 220 patrons and receives the product from (estimated) 1,800 cows. The cows are mostly of common stock, with here and there, however, a Guernsey and a Holstein.”
The Delano Co-operative Creamery became widely known almost immediately for the fine quality of its products. Delano creamery butter won several prizes, including one at the Buffalo World’s Fair.
By 1946 the creamery’s activities were almost entirely devoted to bottling milk and cream for local as well as Minneapolis consumption. The creamery employed eleven men at that time and was managed by Herbert Bauman.
The creamery closed in the 1970’s and the building became the home to other businesses until it was torn down in 2006.
The creamery building was located on the east side of Highway 12, next to the river on its west side. The Delano Sculpture Park now encompasses its former site.