The Daneville Creamery. This is the only known photo from the former village of Daneville which predates Viborg.
Whether it’s local citizens or visitors from another part of the U.S. or Denmark, the museum is ready to help hunt down information about their families. The archives include family histories and photo albums, obituaries published in the Viborg Enterprise, and yearbooks from Viborg High School and Viborg-Hurley High School. Many of these records are available and searchable on the museum’s website.
ALWAYS HERE. ALWAYS CARING.
While a large focus of the museum is on Danish heritage, there’s more to it than that because “The Danes aren’t the only ones in town. It’s really a Viborg area museum,” Bob said. The museum started in 2003 and was in the old veterinary clinic. The newest building emulates the style of an old barn and was added in 2017. The old and new buildings are connected by another structure which includes an elevator. The organization operates two other buildings: (1) The District #46 country school house sits across the street to the west of the First Baptist Church; and (2) The old creamery is across the street to the west of the museum. Bob said, “I worked at the creamery. I hauled those cans around; and hauled butter and ice cream and milk around. So there's a little bit of my history in here, too.” The late Lester Lauritzen left his estate to fund the expansion of the museum. “For a small town, a lot of people are astounded when they open that front door,” he said. “When people first come through the door, they say, ‘Wow, you’ve got a lot of stuff.’ And I tell them, ‘You haven’t even started yet.’”
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June 2022 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine
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