Saint Isidore and the dairy

At the end of the 19th century, dairy became an important product in the Hageland, especially in the valley of the Demer there were fat meadows. Many dairies saw the light of day. In 1897 the dairy 'Melkerij Sint-Isidoors Gildebroeders' was founded in Betekom. In 1929 it moved to this place, on the tram track and the products were transported to Aarschot and Brussels. In 1889 there was even a dairy school where people were trained to become craftsmen in four months. For years, more than 200 farmers from the surrounding area supplied their milk and the renowned dairy produced cottage cheese, yoghurt, chocolate milk, porridge and butter in addition to milk. It had about 20 employees. Until in 1982 the quality suddenly deteriorated and sales dropped to such an extent that the dairy had to close.
The building was demolished in 2010 to make way for a new complex. Only the statue of Saint Isidore that stood on the roof of the dairy was saved. A bronze cast of the original statue was made by the artists Maarten Ceulemans and Luc De Blick , which has been on display here since 2015.

Jan Rymenams