In our collections, we have a leaf and flower patterned butter mold donated by Ona Andre.
It was used to mold butter into shapes. Before modern methods of butter making, people made and molded butter by hand into pieces for individual use or sale. Different farms would have their own design on its butter mold. This was especially important when butter was sold at the market and not directly from the farm. Often, shoppers linked quality to a particular butter print and would ask for that butter specifically. In addition, printed butter sold for more money than the unmarked alternative. This was an early form of the branding of products that we see today.
You can now see this butter mold and many other food items on display at the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum.