Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/709368
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2016 7 E R I K S D A L E SAND - GRAVEL FILL - STONE eddiesgravelsupply.com FREE Zumba Classes 10am – 11am • July 30 & 31 Viking Statue, Gimli zumbajan@mts.net Interlake Consumers Co-op Hardware Ph. 204-739-2634 Grocery Ph. 204-739-2116 24HR CARDLOCK Something for all ages! A unique experience in a fun, relax ax a ed atmosphere Living Museum • Petting Farm Farmers' Market (always looking for new vendors) Mystery Shack • Pendulum Wave Swinging Bridges • Lighthouse Antiques & Art For Sale 24 passenger bus available to pick up groups for a visit to Dogtown 204-822-3038 or 204-362-2212 Box 2757, Morden MB R6M 1C4 bestfriends.dogtown@sdnet.ca DogTown-Morden BY DAVID SQUARE WHEN THE STORIED ERIKSDALE CREAMERY WAS OPERATIONAL, NO ONE WAS EVER CREAMED BY A COMPANY DELIVERY TRUCK, BUT MANY RURAL FOLKS DEPENDED ON THE VEHICLES TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SERVICES. "O n one occasion, a pregnant woman was rushed to the local hospital by a truck that was returning to Eriksdale with a load of cream," says Andrea Sweetland, secretary-treasurer of the Eriksdale Creamery Museum. Built in 1912 by the Casselman family, the creamery was later expanded to include a meat butchering and storage area. Farmers and town residents could rent cold lockers to keep their wild and domestic meat fresh in warm months. They had the choice of cutting and wrapping the meat themselves or paying for the service. Ice blocks cut from Lake Manitoba in winter were used to keep the butchering oor and lockers cold before modern refrigeration wasinstalled. "As a child, I remember being allowed to visit the creamery with friends and weigh ourselves on a big scale that was used to weigh the cream pails," recalls Sweetland, adding her most vivid image is of the enormous metal door to the meat locker being opened, releasing clouds of frosted air. "On a hot summer day, it was really refreshing." Doreen Lamoureux, president of the museum, says her family shipped cream from their cattle ranch near Lundar to the creamery for 25 years. "A company truck would visit our farm three days a week, arriving early in the morning to pick up pails of fresh cream and returning in the evening with our mail and a list of groceries my mother gave to the driver. The change for the groceries was always in one of the steam-cleaned pails," Lamoureux says. During its heyday, the creamery had 10 full-time employees and generated $3 million in yearly revenue. When cream arrived, it was weighed, checked for impurities and the producer's name was logged in an account book. It was then dumped into large vats where it was pasteurized and, once cooled, churned into butter. Buttermilk, a liquid byproduct, was poured into bottles and sold with the one- pound bricks of butter. Originally, butter was molded, wrapped and packed in 50-pound crates by hand. However, as technology improved, it was cut to size and shape by a machine equipped with taut steel wires. During the Second World War, it was wrapped by women who undertook jobs traditionally reserved for men. The Eriksdale operation supplied butter to large companies in Winnipeg such as Swift and Maple Leaf as well as grocery stores andrestaurants. "Whenever I visited Winnipeg, I'd take friends a gift of Eriksdale butter as it was considered the tastiest available," says Sweetland. The creamery shut down in 1990, after most of its machinery was moved to a new building in Fraserwood. During its last years of operation, it was a packaging centre for bulk butter shipped to Canada from New Zealand, Australia and othercountries. "The butter was re-churned, made into pats and bricks, and then wrapped in paper with the company's logo before it was shipped back to the country of origin," says Sweetland. In 1995, a group of volunteers decided to rejuvenate the historic creamery by turning it into the Eriksdale CreameryMuseum. The building, designated a Municipal Heritage Site, is presently owned by the RM of West Interlake (formerly RM of Eriksdale). The site includes an Anglican church built near the turn of the last century. Opened in 2000, the museum contains the original machinery, most of which was returned from Fraserwood. The meat cutting and storage locker area are now used to display local artifacts and historicmemorabilia. The RM pays for hydro and waives land taxes, and the Province of Manitoba provides an annual operating grant. This summer, Young Canada Works and Summer Jobs programs allowed the museum to hire Kaylee Weatherburn of Eriksdale and Austin Nikkel of Clarkleigh to catalogue material and guide tours. The volunteer board undertakes many fundraising events during the year in conjunction with local people and businesses. "Our biggest event is Creamery Days, which features a rodeo, tractor pull, parade, equine events as well as delicious food," says Sweetland, adding that 200 people volunteer their time and effort to make the occasion a success. This year the event will be held Aug. 19-21. To learn more, visit www.eriksdale.com. "Whenever I visited Winnipeg, I'd take friends a gift of Eriksdale butter as it was considered the tastiest available..." Any Child. Any Need. Every Day. Call (204) 982-1050 O R V I S I T varietymanitoba.com DONATE T O D A Y Last year, Logan couldn't hear his older brother. With your donation you give a child... a childhood. Every day, Variety improves the lives of children with special needs. Whether it's new batteries for a hearing device or covering the insurance for advanced medical equipment, your donation has an impact today, and for the rest of their lives. Now they share a Now they share a Now they secret language. • Computer Courses, including: Diagnostics and Networking • American Sign Language • Safe Food Handling and MORE! We need volunteers to teach contact training@winnipegharvest.org 204.982.3663 ext.442 Volunteer Today!