By Carson Ellis
For the Stettler Independent
The Donalda Museum hosted a fundraising event at the Drop-In Centre on Thursday, Jan 25.
Members from the Museum hosted a pork loin dinner which started at 5 p.m. and ran until 7 p.m. Admission was $20 for adults and $10 for kids between ages seven and ten. Proceeds from the evening will go towards restoration efforts of the Donalda Creamery.
The Donalda Creamery was originally built as a machine shop. In 1954, the local dairy cooperative purchased the building, moved it across the street to their property and made the necessary modifications to it. An addition to the building, as well as some of the modifications, used salvaged materials from the original creamery that it would be replacing. Although new equipment was purchased as part of the replacement, it continued to operate with equipment from the ’20s, 30s, and 40s. As time went on, the creamery would continue to operate on older equipment from different decades right up until its closure in 1987.
Although many creameries across the province were eventually consolidated by larger organizations, the Donalda Creamery had resisted being absorbed over the years. It would remain one of the last co-operative owned/operated facilities of its kind in Alberta.
The Donalda Museum successfully applied for a Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP) Grant in 2021/22. The grant amount was $30,000, which the museum must match to complete the funding.
Event organizer Marlene Connibear says that they also plan to apply for another grant soon.
Connibear does point out that one of the issues they have to consider is that the Creamery is an Alberta Historic Site.
This means that some rules and guidelines must be met concerning restoration, and replacement. This can often make the cost of restoration projects increase due to strict guidelines.
Connibear says they held several fundraising suppers last year and are hoping for approximately eight more this year.
