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Luverne 'creamery pond' to be known as 'The Lake'

Lead Summary
By
Lori Sorenson

The gravel pit pond in Luverne has become known as the Creamery Pond, due to its proximity to the former Land ‘O Lakes creamery.
There’s no longer a creamery in Luverne, and Land ‘O Lakes is now Great Plains Processing, but the little body of water has retained the Creamery Pond identity for lack of a better name.
Now city leaders and adjacent property owners are adopting a formal name for the water, especially due to recent marketing events.
Traci Davis (who owns adjacent land by the pond with her husband, Mike Davis) and Chamber Director Jane Wildung Lanphere attended the March 15 Luverne City Council meeting to propose “The Lake” as the new name for the pond.
“It’s been my honor to work with a great group of people down at the Creamery Pond,” said Lanphere, speaking on behalf of the Luverne Convention and Visitors Bureau.
She said since the successful July 4 celebration and the recent “Get Hooked” fishing tournament, a formal name for the pond would be a good idea for marketing purposes.
“The idea of a ‘stock pond’ doesn’t exactly capture the vision of what this space can be,” Lanphere said.
In the past couple of years the nearby space at the west end of Edgehill Street has been cleaned up and the beach has been groomed as a public swimming area.
The DNR has also stocked the water with fish to encourage local anglers to use the water.
“Chris [Ingebretsen] at the state park — since there’s not a pond there anymore — said he’s encouraged people to come swim at the Creamery Pond, and visitors say, ‘Creamery Pond?’”
At Tuesday’s meeting there was some discussion about the origin of the body of water and its cleanliness.
 
Clean water, spring fed
Vance Walgrave, who also attended the meeting, said it originated as a gravel pit that was used in the 1920s to build Highway 75 and Old Highway 16.
“It’s spring fed, based on the level of the aquifer, so the water in there is really clean,” Walgrave said. “It’s cleaner than most other bodies of water around here.”
Davis said the water was 8 feet deep at the end of the dock last time it was measured, and it’s 11 feet deep at its deepest.
Through the years it was also referred to as the Sybesma Pit when it was used to water nearby farmland, and for a while it was known as the Carsrud Pit.
“There’s never been a formal name, but as we move forward with the second phase of the Loop, it would be nice to know what to call it as we develop signage and other materials,” Lanphere said.
Even though it’s not a lake by definition, she said that name would have better connotations for swimming and fishing, especially since the area has recently been improved for those uses.
And since it’s not a lake, the renaming process doesn’t need to be coordinated with the DNR. “It’s a destination in the city, and the city can name it as such,” Lanphere said.
City Council members said they would consider a formal resolution to adopt The Lake as the formal name of the creamery pond. The item was on the agenda for such action at the March 22 meeting.
 
New name and logo to be used for July 4 marketing
Also at the March 15 meeting, Lanphere and Davis presented possible logos designed by Quality Printing for The Lake, incorporating colors from Luverne’s official city logo.
The new name and logo will likely make its first appearance on promotional materials for the July 4 Beach Bash and Fireworks Extravaganza planned for this summer.
The Luverne CVB and Fourth of July Committee is working on planning the free all-day event, which will include a triathlon, DJ music, bean bag tournament, kids sandcastle contest, volleyball tournament, log rolling contest, parade on the pond, concessions, beer garden and fireworks.
The committee is seeking volunteers and sponsorships. Donations can be sent to the Luverne Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, 213 East Luverne St., Luverne, MN 56156.
Contact the Chamber with questions or to sign up to volunteer. The phone number is 507-283-4061, or email luvernechamber@co.rock.mn.us.

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