Butterheads

     Each year at the Minnesota State Fair a Dairy Queen is named along with her court.  This is a 61 year tradition, beginning way back in 1954.  Another part of the tradition is that the queen and her court receive the coveted (and unique) title of Princess Kay of the Milky Way.  The first recipient of that moniker was Eleanor Maley Thatcher of Grand Meadow.  That distinctive and tasteful title is bestowed annually by the Midwest Dairy Association.



   It was in 1965 that another feature of the year long reign commenced.  Each member of The Milky Way has the honor of having her likeness carved out of a block of butter, a 90 pound block of butter.  The skilled artist is Linda Christensen who has been carving butterheads for the past 44 years. It's all done in a rotating glass enclosed studio, a giant walk-in cooler set at a constant 40 degrees.



     It's a cool job, to be sure, since it takes anywhere from 6-9 hours to complete each head.  They then remain on display for the duration of the fair.  And when the fair is over each woman gets to take her likeness home with her, all 192,000 calories of it!



Factoid: It takes 21.8 pounds of whole milk to make 1 pound of butter.