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Gold Medal Dairy (6/2/21)

2021:004:002 Gold Medal Dairy, Huron, SD 1 quart milk bottle
2021:004:002 Gold Medal Dairy, Huron, SD 1 quart milk bottle

Sunday, July 13, 1929 was the grand opening of Gold Medal Dairy in Huron. Joe Jorgenson and S. M. Jensen were the owners of this new plant. Jorgenson was a prize-winning butter maker who had won many state and national butter making competitions. Jensen was a graduate of the South Dakota State College dairy program and had been the manager of the White Lake Creamery Company prior to partnering with Jorgenson. According to the June 7, 1929, Evening Huronite, the dairy plant was outfitted with the most modern and sanitary equipment. It had a 300-gallon pasteurizer and an automatic cooling system that ensures the milk was kept at a uniform temperature. In 1941, improvements to the dairy plant included a bottle washing machine, stainless steel milk pasteurizer tanks, a new milk cooler, and a bottling machine. The bottling machine filled 30 quarts per minute and the new butter churn had a 700-pound capacity. From 1929 until 1949, the dairy plant was located at 348 Kansas S.E., Huron. In 1949, Gold Medal Dairy was purchased by Fairmont Foods.