Dairy Bar Cows Make Debut At Benton County Fair
SAUK RAPIDS (WJON News) -- Some pretty famous cows are making their debut this week at the Benton County Fair.
The cows that spent decades on top of the Sauk Rapids Dairy Bar are on display in the Heritage Building.
Benton County Historical Society Executive Director Mary Ostby says the Dairy Bar was started by Bennett and Inga Olson in 1941 and the Olson family ran it until they sold the business around 1981.
She says Denny Larson bought the business and changed the color of the cows.
When the family sold the building they sold it to Denny Larson. When he bought the building he painted the cows black and white. So they originally started out brown and white. Depending on when you visited the Sauk Rapids Dairy Bar for ice cream or glass bottled milk you'd remember the cows with two different colors.
Ken's Bakery was in the back of the long building. Larson retired in 2000 and closed the business.
Ostby says several residents and one radio station wanted the cows, but he ended up donating them to the historical society.
The Sauk Rapids Dairy Bar was at 11 2nd Avenue North in downtown Sauk Rapids. State Farm Insurance is in that building now.
The Benton County Historical Society held a contest to name the cows and the names chosen are Bennett for the calf and Inga for the mom. They'll be on display along with several photos of the business through the run of the fair.
Also inside the Heritage Building, they have Boy Scout memorabilia from the 1950s, there will be lefse making from 10:00 a.m. until noon on Friday, and historian Doug Ohman will be speaking on Thursday at 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
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