A churn roll was part of a churn machine used to churn cream into butter.
At the back of the factory grounds, two poles stood in the ground in front of the former “polishing ditch” (part of the former wastewater pre-treatment). These two poles were part of an old fence and stood about one meter apart. A gate hung between the poles, which could be opened and closed. This formed a passage from inside to outside (and vice versa) on the south side of the factory grounds.
This illustrates that sustainability was taken for granted in the past; nothing was simply thrown away. This pole comes from a churn machine that was likely used here at De Graafstroom to churn and knead cream into butter, possibly until sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s. The two gears of the machine probably turned in opposite directions, interlocking. When butter production with this machine stopped (date unknown), the machine's parts were repurposed as much as possible. It is known that butter production continued with another or new machine.
Because these wooden objects, with some stainless steel parts, were saturated with milk fat, they have probably withstood the test of time so well.
Peter den Hartogh
Zuivelfabriek De Graafstroom