He Collects Butter Boxes

He Collects Butter Boxes Retired Owatonna, Minn., dairyman Scott Krause has no trouble remembering when every small town with a creamery made butter. All he has to do is look at his collection of 1,500 butter boxes. “I’m into collecting a lot of stuff, from beer cans (also 1,500) to toys to old Owatonna farm equipment and memorabilia,” says Krause. “I would see them at swap meets, and one day I bought one. It took off from there.” He learned about the butter box hobby while he was still milking cows himself. One of the field men who called on him collected them. “He would tell me about finding a new one,” says Krause. “At the time, I never thought I’d collect them, but it’s addictive. I’ve been doing it for 20 years.” Krause displays all 1,500 on a big table. About 1,000 of them are unique. He has his favorites, like Holt Butter, which is still made in a small town in his county. The images on other boxes also make them favorites. “A box from Delva, Wis., has Holsteins grazing by a stream,” says Krause. “Moose Lake Special Creamery, Lakeland Creamery and Mountain Lake Creamery each have outdoor scenes with lakes on them.” The Ewald Brothers butter box is a favorite because it has a Guernsey on the side. It was the breed the Krause family originally milked. “Most of the boxes are from Minnesota and Wisconsin, but I have some from Iowa and North and South Dakota,” says Krause. “I don’t think of Iowa as a dairy state, but I have quite a few boxes from there.” Krause is always looking for new items to add to his collection. If he comes across a duplicate, he’ll trade it with other collectors.  “I stop at antique stores and swap meets and watch for online auctions,” says Krause. “You never know when you’ll find something new. I found eight just last week. They pop up when you least expect it.” He has paid as much as $70 for a box but admits to getting caught up in bidding at one online auction. “It reached $600 before I decided to quit,” he recalls. “A few months later, I found the same box for much less.” Krause buys, sells and trades butter boxes. He formed a Butter Box Group on Facebook with around 185 members. “There are a limited number of collectors,” he says. Krause offers advice to other collectors, no matter what they collect. “I used to stop at a little antique store every summer when we went to a lake to fish, but they never had a butter box,” he recalls. “Then one year, they had one. You just have to keep checking.” Krause notes that his collection isn’t just from nearby states. He’d like to hear about butter boxes from other places as well. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Scott Krause, 1470 18th St. SE, Owatonna, Minn. 55060 (ph 507-455-1976 or mobile 507-213-1973).

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