Better Butter at Star Lake Creamery

In the season of Christmas and holiday baking, one of the most important ingredients is good quality butter. Here’s a look at some local butter history.

Star Lake Creamery

While many of Meeker County’s early residents were farmers, it wasn’t until around 1890 that many turned their attention to dairy farming. By 1899, there were twenty creameries in the county. Despite having only the fourth-highest dairy cow population in the state, the county produced the most butter. And, it was great butter, too, commanding the highest price in the markets.

Some of the best of the best butter came out of Greenleaf Township and the Star Lake Creamery. The creamery, located in the hamlet of Strout, was started in 1893. A creamery was built and a house constructed for the all-important buttermaker. But not just any buttermaker would do. Advertisements were sent out, seeking the very best and John Fridner was hired. Fridner, along with his family, had just arrived from Sweden, having learned his buttermaking skills in Sweden and Denmark.

It wasn’t long before Fridner was making a name for himself and Star Lake Creamery, winning buttermaking awards in Minnesota and beyond. At the 1896 Minnesota State Fair, Fridner’s butter scored 100. It was the first time a perfect score was awarded anywhere in the country.

Star Lake butter even gained fame at an international level. In 1896, a sample was entered in the World Exposition in Liverpool, England where it won first prize. The following year, the US Department of Agriculture sent 1,000 pounds of Star Lake butter to England in hopes of expanding butter markets overseas.

In 1902, Fridner received a gold medal for his buttermaking in the first Educational Buttermaking Contest. The state dairy commissioner created the year-long contest, hoping it would lead to better overall quality and uniformity in butter across the state.

Fridner came away with the highest average score and the Governor Van Sant metal, valued at $100. H.T. Sondergaard of Litchfield came in third in the statewide competition.

Aside from winning awards, Fridner and Star Lake Creamery were rising in star power, at least in the dairy world. Companies that sold buttermaking supplies used Fridner’s name in their advertising. Ads in the New York Produce Review and American Creamery implied Fridner’s success was due to their cream ripener and butter color.

In 1904, Fridner stepped away from the creamery but returned a few years later. While he was away, a new brick creamery was built. In 1920 (or 1923, accounts vary), Fridner officially retired from buttermaking. When he died in 1931, his obituary included great praise to his butter skills. “Fridner rose to the high and enviable distinction of having been one of the most noted buttermakers in the United States.”

Fridner’s son John Fridner took over as buttermaker. He was followed by Knute Carlson and Roy Kangas. On June 1, 1946, Star Lake Creamery stopped operations. The creamery was torn down in the early 1960s and another piece of Meeker County dairy history came to a close.