Scottish Butter in New England - Bonnie Brae

In 1965, C.W. Paddock donated this clock to the Reston Community Rink that had been erected the year before.  Bonnie Brae was the name of his products made in Reston and later Souris. It is now displayed at the Reston Museum. 

For two decades, Reston was home to a creamery in the building now known as Gray's Transfer. The story begins in 1940 when Cecil William Paddock (1906-1972) came to Elkhorn to manage the creamery there.  "Paddy" -  as he was known to all -  quickly gained fame for the excellent quality of his products.  E. Cora Hind wrote about his fine butter making skills in the Winnipeg Free Press in January of 1940. 

 

WWII interrupted this career while he trained and became an air gunner in the 424 Squadron in the Canadian Air Force. He saw action over Germany, Northern Africa and Italy. Cecil received the Distinguished Flying Cross at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace in 1943 and had the title of Squadron Leader at his discharge in 1946. The Legion Military Service Recognition book Volume 7  page 163 was the source for this information and the picture of him in uniform to the left. 

The Reston Creamery was built by Hazen Bigney south of the railway tracks in April of 1946.  It was  40 x 50 feet frame constructions and  accepted the first cream in July, 1946 from local farmer Roy Campbell.  Lots south of the tracks in Reston were referred to as being in a district called "New England".  Ted Haines and Bill Hollowell were the first to build homes in this area about 1910 and named it after their former homeland. Other homes built to the west of New England were on Lucy Street.  Paddy lived near his work on the west side of First Street, south of town. The house is gone but the trees still mark the yard site. A two level pig barn along with another large barn were northwest of the house as well. The large barn was built for J.D. Reid in 1924 and was home to many a barn dance in the 1930’s.  The small barn was a former livery stable moved in from its original location on Railway Avenue Whey from the creamery was used as part of the feed for the hogs and this Pig Ranch employed local men.  Information about the barns comes from a clipping courtesy of Kelly Donald from December of 1987 when the barns were burned. 

Sign at Reston Museum says - Also available from your driver Bonnie Brae Daily Products: included butter, cream, eggs, ice cream, chocolate milk, buttermilk, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese. 

Photo from Trails Along the Pipestone page 440

Paddy was proud of his Scottish heritage and under the name "Bonnie Brae" he produced 12 million pounds of butter in the old wooden churn before replacing it with a stainless steel churn in 1964. Bonnie Brae means "Pleasant Hill" in the Gaelic language and it is also a street name in Los Angeles.  Coincidently, there is a Bonnie Brae Ice Cream shop today that sells ice cream in Denver, Colorado.  His ice cream and Big Ten ice cream bars are fondly remembered by many for the flavour and the size which makes today's ice cream treats look like appetizers.

Richard, Randall and Russell Boulton with their Big Ten ice cream bars in the early 1960's.

 The slip below is from the days when Thomas Boulton and his family milked cows and separated the cream to sell.  They bought butter there - $2.90 for 5 pounds in 1956. Eggs were bought from farmers as well and graded to be resold to his customers. Many were employed to work in the building and deliver products to other towns and local deliveries. Pick up of the cream cans by a truck at the end of the lane also employed several local men.  It was an important local industry in Reston for almost 2 decades. 

Paddy ran a very successful business but the times were changing.  Once grain prices rose, people reduced the number of milk cows and business gradually fell off. Farmers no longer wanted a small number of milk cows to look after twice a day every day nor needed to sell cream to supplement their income. Dairy was left to specialized farms and they had the ability to process their own butter and cream or send it by truck to the larger Manco dairy in Brandon. The closure of The Peanut Rail Line in 1961 meant there was no convenient way for the cream of some of the farmers to get to Reston either. By 1966, the creamery was partially closed, serving only as a receiving station for Souris Creamery. The creamery closed shortly afterward. 

The picture of the roll of Bonnie Brae butter paper below was sent to me by Kelly Donald.  His Grandpa Doug purchased it for him at the estate auction of Miss Carrie MacAdoo many years ago.  Thanks Kelly!

   

A tender was placed in the Brandon Sun in May of 1968 to purchase the land, buildings and creamery equipment at both Reston and Souris. Paddy continued to farm until he had a sale in about 1972 when he moved to Brandon.  In 1974, the RM of Pipestone approved the sale of the land and building to Paul Gray who had been the butter maker at the creamery.  He began a to build a successful business of his own in New England, Reston- Gray's Transfer.