I found out that between 120 and a 130 people would arrive at the creamery each day. Most people would bring their milk in by horse and cart or by ass and cart. Each pound of butter would cost 6 pence and 2 shillings. The butter wasn’t so cheap due to the amount of milk needed. The sound of the churn would change as the butter was made. They would make sure the butter was good quality by smelling it, tasting it and by the texture of the butter.
Aisling
Cappamore creamery was founded in 1902. It was a social outing for many people and a central part of the community. The machines in the creamery were powered by steam. These include a separator, churn mixer and a cooler. There was a shaft running through the building with a separate belt to power each machine. Farmers came daily with their churns on their horse and cart.
Matthew
From Bernard Kennedy, I learnt that it was a race to the creamery and that if someone wasn’t at the creamery at their usual time something was wrong.The farmers started coming at 8 and were long gone by 10.
I learnt that nowadays cows are being milked by robots as cows can go in whenever they want and a machine will auto milk them,then the cows get put back into a field.
Cappamore Creamery made butter,pasteurized milk,ice cream,yogurt and skim milk.
There was this tool for checking butters taste and texture it worked like this,it would go down the entire can of butter and pick a bit up from the top and the bottom and then you could see how it looked and then take a taste.
Seamus K.
Churning Butter,
Separating milk.
Encouraging Donkeys,
Loading pats ,
Paying wages,
Hooking Carts,
Writing Receipts ,
Managing Loads,
Persuading Horses,
Milking teats ,
Closing lids ,
Relaxing finally.
James
The first ever butter was made by accident. There was lots of competition with other creameries in the area. The creamery helped farmers sell their products. The people came to the creamery around eight o’clock in the morning. They spoke to other farmers about the news in the village. They made the community come together. They travelled by horse and cart every day. Their milk was in churns on the cart. Now a milk lorry travels to the farm each day to collect the milk .
Niamh 5th
Bernard came in and told us about creamery’s I found it very interesting. Eight o clock the farmers’ would go to the creamery’s they would go back at 5 to 10. Sometimes farmers weren’t there because of an important thing at home or elsewhere. While they were waiting they talk about the news and crops. When they came back they would tell the wife the news. The creameries had rivals and the ultimate treachery was to leave the local creamery and go to another one. Bernard said it was enjoyable and if he could do it again he would. To see if the butter was good enough they would stick a metal pole in it. If I could go back in time I'd love to go!
Laura!
The first time butter was made was in Africa. The native people were crossing a dessert to go to oasis. They put goat’s milk in to a leather container and when they got there the milk had little lumps on the top. The native tried the lumps and they liked it. The bumpy walk shook the container and butter was made. From then butter has expanded and now we can put milk into a machine and out comes butter. Though butter making has change the ingredients haven’t for example you can’t put more than 2% of fat in butter.
Diarmuid 6th.
The Creamery
Horse’s neighing,
Cart’s trundling ,
Farmer’s talking ,
Butter pounding ,
Steam pouring ,
Worker’s whistling ,
Everyone’s busy ,
At the Co-op .
Aoife
What I learned from Bernard about the creamery was that he didn’t get paid for the first six months. Then when he was able to do everything in the creamery he got paid 5 pounds each day. Also what I learned from Bernard was that when he was going to work every day he went on a horse and cart. The horse’s name was Speedo. He was very fast. Bernard said if he did that now he would block his eyes but back then he loved it. I learned alot from him and I really enjoyed it.
Sarah!
Bernard Kennedy visited our school to talk about his work in Cappamore creamery. He liked working in the creamery. He really enjoyed talking to the farmers in the community. They talked about what happened since they last saw each other. They talked about G.A.A, their crops, the weather, births, deaths, and marriages. His work hours were 8am to 5pm. I can tell that Bernard liked his job.
Orla 5th
Milk was taken to the creamery,
They rarely took it on machinery,
It was brought in a churn ,
They got money in return ,
In the creamery they made butter,
Used to make bread by their mother,
Machines were operated by steam ,
Various types were used for separating cream and butter.
Orlaith!
Bernard Kennedy came to talk about his work in Cappamore creamery. Bernard started work in 1950s. At the start of his work he didn’t get paid ’but after six months he got paid 8 shillings or more. He said if a farmer didn’t come at time the was something wrong like someone dead ‘wedding etc. Farmers would be gone at 20 past 10 or earlier. Bernard worked 8-5. Bernard made butter ice-cream and cheese .The creamery close down n 1970. It was really interesting have a butter maker at our school and telling us what it was like in a creamery .
Niamh 6th.
The Creamery
Milk, cream, and butter,
In a creamery were made,
But back in the 1970`s,
Creameries started to fade.
Bernard Kennedy came to talk to us,
It was butter he would stash,
And Bernard`s favourite part,
Was the daily news flash.
Conor!
Butter making started when a person from Africa put some milk in a goat skin bag and went on a long journey. When he got to his destination he found lumps in his milk, he tried the lumps in his milk and it tasted nice, so that’s how butter started.
In Ireland people mostly came in horse and cart or ass and cart (sometimes people came in cars) to the creamery where they made the butter. The butter was packed into cardboard boxes and then sold. There is a Cappamore creamery butter wrapper framed on the wall of Hayes bar on main st . The Cappamore creamery opened in 1902 and stopped taking milk in the late 1970’s.
Erin
To separate the cream from the milk a man from Sweden invented a machine where there were discs. The discs spun really fast. Since the cream was the lightest product in the milk it separated over to the edges of the milk. There is a second machine that collects up the cream and passes it on to the next machine which is the butter making process. Every day 120-130 people pass through the creamery. They would start coming in at 8:00 and be well gone by 10:20.
Ultan!
Early Morning , creamery run
milk all ready in churns.
Busy farmers all lined up ,
ready to take their turn.
Milk goes in , butter comes out
delicious to taste in our mouths.
Old Tradition, sadly gone,
but the memory of the Creamery still goes on.
Abbi!
The Creamery!
Milk getting made ,
The machines clanging,
So loud I need a hearing aid,
Pipes hanging of the roof,
I hope they don’t fall on my head,
I need some proof that they will not fall,
Oh look, it’s my friend named Paul,
I better go and chat,
I don’t have time to send him a letter,
So I need to go now,
Enjoy milking your cow.
Billy M
The Good Old Days
When Bernard came to us I wasn’t too sure,
But then he gave us more and more.
He said that they made butter with a churn,
Also no left overs to burn!
The creamery in Cappamore was the place to meet,
It was the busiest place on the street.
For all the farmers to have a chat, there was always a welcome on the mat.
The milk was brought from far and wide,
By horse and cart with quite a stride.
When the creamery closed, the people were sad,
But life goes on, it’s not so bad.
Donnacha!
In 1902, the Cappamore Creamery or Co-op was built. Around one hundred and twenty farmers supplied their milk to the creamery everyday by horse/donkey and cart. Each farmer was individually paid on how much butterfat was in their fresh milk. Until the British Government (this was before Ireland became a free State) decided to build co-ops, they made milk and butter at home. They were introduced so more people could work and the farmers had a broader market in selling their milk to businesses and companies. Alas, more farmers supplied their milk to Avonmore, Dairygold and the creameries ceased to be. Its grounds only to be used for farmers supplying their milk to the companies, never once did those doors open and I think they won’t open still.
The History of Butter
It is generally believed the word butter originates from the bou-tyron, Greek for cow-cheese, however it also may come from Asian cattle-herding nomad tribes. Butter was used as food in Asia/India, burning for lamps and smeared on against the bitter winter colds. People must have found out one way or another because Ancient Roman doctors used for coughs and cuts while Egyptians used it for cosmetics and burnt it for incense. Now we use it for smearing it on toast, dumping jam on top and vaulting ourselves into the car before we are late.
Deirdre!