Henry County Historic Highlights

This month, the Henry County Historic Preservation Commission will be taking residents back to the days of the Wayland Creamery.

The Wayland and Midwest Memories Museum, located in Wayland, feature an exhibit on the history of the Wayland Creamery and the process of manufacturing butter. Below is an excerpt from ?Wayland ? The First Century 1880-1980? book on the Wayland Creamery. Melvin J. Haberman?s wife, Bea, currently resides at Parkview Care Center in Wayland. A calendar and butter box were recently donated to the Wayland Museum and will soon be added to the museum displays.

History of Wayland Creamery

Melvin J. Haberman, owner and operator of the Wayland Creamery, Wayland, Iowa.

Plans for the construction of the new building were started June 15, 1938. The following is a list of equipment used in the Creamery Processing Plant: 2-300 gallon vats; 1-1000 lb. churn; 1-20 H.P. high-pressure boiler; 1-4 ton capacity refrigeration unit; several pumps; several scales; 1 cream testing machine ? all operated by electric motors.

The cream came from farmers in the surrounding area. Some brought in individually, some picked up on routes, and some bought from cream buying stations in Noble, Olds, Haskins, and Wenger Grocery in Wayland by his ?37 Chevy pickup truck.

About 95% of the butter manufactures was put in 60 lb. cardboard boxes and shipped to New York City, N.Y. All supplies were purchased from the Cherry-Burrell Corporation of Cedar Rapids.

Process of Manufacturing the Butter

Cream is put into holding vats and pasteurized (a process of heating the cream to 175 degrees Fahrenheit) and held for half an hour; then, cooled to 45 degrees Fahrenheit and held overnight and churned. This process is required to kill the tuberculin germ.

The churning process required about 50 to 60 minutes, resulting in the formation of small granules. When the buttermilk is drained off, the butter is washed with cold water to remove all milk, then, the salt is added (approximately 2.5 percent) and worked in ? time required about 15 minutes. The butter is taken from the churn and put into 60 lb. boxes and shipped about once a week by refrigerated trucks to N.Y.

First shipment of butters sold for .25 cents per lb.

Highest paid during operation was .88 cents per lb. in 1946.

Last shipment of butter was .70 centers per lb. in 1952.

Today?s price for butter, approximately 1.40 cents per lb. in 1980.

The business was closed on Dec. 1, 1952. Approximate production of butter per year was 300,000 lbs. Melvin Haberman was one of the few manufacturers of a product for human consumption which came under the Federal Food and Drug regulations in the late 1930s. The creamery building is located in the same location and is presently the Brooks Meat Plant (now Crawford Meat Plant).