The year was 1921. Wellsburg was to have a creamery! Having sold his creamery in Buck Grove, H. G. Kramer moved here to start a new creamery. Lots on the corner of 4th and Lincoln were purchased for the creamery and a home for his family. C. C. Reiter staked the ground for the tile buildings. The tile was a new kind which had a felt strip running thru the wall, which was to take up the moisture and keep the inside of the wall dry even during the dampest weather. Area farmers began adding to their dairy herds in order to supply the creamery with the needed cream. M. H. Tjaden bought some of the finest Guernsey dairy cows and had them shipped from Wisconsin. Opening day was 20 March 1922 with 37 patrons furnishing 218 gallons of cream, enough for nine tubs of butter, weighing 63 pounds each. Most of the output was sold in the New York market!

On 1 July 1936 the creamery and residence was sold to Ray Gimer, for a reportedly $10,000, who ran it for the next 8 years.

A deal was made and on 15 October 1944, Gordon Junker of Traer bought the properties and became our creamery man for the next 35 years. A bulk of his butter was marketed with Lakeside Butter Company of Chicago, a subsidiary of the Safeway grocery chain. Much of his skim milk was sold to a drying plant to be made into powder form for human consumption. Wellsburg milk and butter helped to feed people all over the country! Junker Dairy was sold 1 September 1982. Thus ending an era of a Wellsburg creamery.

(This was originally shared on 3 June 2021 on the Facebook Group – Wellsburg IOWA Historical Foundation)