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In a small building built for $1,225 on a $400 piece of land, the Creamery produced 67,524 pounds of butter during its first year. Although the first generation of patrons is gone, several second- and third-generation patrons recall the early days.
Second-generation patron Carla Olson, 83, of Westby, remembers milking by hand and separating milk from the cream with a hand cranked cream separator. The cream was transported to the Creamery by horse drawn wagons or Model T cars. "We'd tie three milk cans to the back where the spare tire went and one more on the side," Olson says.
Olson's father-in-law, Arne Olson, who traveled from Norway with his brother in 1893 by steamship, settled in the Westby area and helped build the original Creamery building. "In those days, most people had just a dozen cows or more and made their own cheese and butter," she says.
Westby,
Wisconsin, 1903.
Original Westby Creamery Building.
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