View From The Cab

By David Tollefson, Columnist

Ruby Farms? What’s that got to do with Pope County and central Minnesota?

OK, there’s somewhat of a local tie here.

Pat Doyle, a retired newspaper executive with ties to Pope County and the Starbuck area, married a Starbuck gal, Linda Berge. Linda and her sister, Diane Berge, own a farm and farmhouse alongside a picturesque small lake in Rolling Forks township of Pope County.

Pat and Linda and their kids and grandkids all live in or near the town of Brookfield, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee. Many of the family spend time at the farm in the warmer seasons, and sometimes even in the winter.

Recently Pat sent me a newspaper clipping from the local Waukesha/Brookfield newspaper dated September 2023, written by Isabella Kostolni. Here it is, edited for length:

Little did Brookfield know when it welcomed German immigrant Jacob Ruby to the area in 1848 that his family would go on to become a pillar of the community for the next century and three-quarters.

But when Jacob arrived in America’s Dairyland, he had a slightly different last name – Rube. It was in the 1850s that he adopted the “y,” due to recurring mail mixups with the Rube family of Milwaukee. And it was a good thing he did, because the image of a shiny red jewel is reflective of what the Ruby family was (and continues to be) to many people in the community – a real gem.

When Ruby Farms first started its agricultural venture 175 years ago with only 80 acres, Jacob focused on the production of sugar beets. Each year, roughly 400 tons were shipped to Green Bay.

But beyond the sweet root vegetable, Jacob also contributed to the local economy through the sale of other vegetables, feed, calves, honey, hay and apples. Work horses were an important part of the operation and continued to be integral to the Ruby family’s history until the 1990s.

A log cabin stood on the property during the early days of the farm. After a decade of success, the Rubys constructed a more stately home. The Cream City brick house has been standing since 1858. It underwent some small renovations in the 1990s, but the family says the home is still 90 percent original.

In 1907, Jacob’s grandson Rolland Ruby was born. For many Brookfielders, this is the man who comes to mind when one thinks of Ruby Farms.

Rolland cultivated over 1,000 acres of land. He was also the man who built up the Ruby Farms dairy business.

Up until 1933, the family’s dairy cows produced milk to be shipped off to another manufacturer. Soon enough, Rolland came to the conclusion that the entire dairy process could be done in-house. So for the next 20 years, the Rubys produced and delivered milk to families in the area.

During that time, Rolland employed 20 men and had four panel trucks bringing milk to local homes six days a week.

Born in 1945, Rolland’s son Jake vividly remembers this time in his life. 

In 1953, Rolland decided it was time to move away from dairy and try his hand at something else. “What transpired was he was a small dairy, but there were big ones in town,” Jake said. “People were getting their milk from bigger farms……Times were changing.”

They were, indeed. Following World War II, families were growing and moving into the suburbs. So Rolland saw an opportunity to try his hand at real estate.

He used some of his land to develop a subdivision, and many of the families who had once bought milk from him soon turned into real estate customers.

“Having had the milk routes, he knew a lot of people,” Jake explained. “When you buy a product like milk – a product that you put in your mouth – you want to buy from someone you trust. So he was a man that was trusted.”

Fully entrenched in this new area of business, Rolland built the Ruby Isle Shopping Center, which opened for business in 1963. Community members might recall the center’s 800-seat movie theater. The theater was known for its 79 cents showings on Thursdays. Jake recalls how many local children liked watching movies from the theater’s upper level. “The balcony had relaxing chairs and a lot of times the boys and girls enjoyed going up there,” he said.

Even though Rolland’s real estate business was booming, he still had a passion for farming. So he channeled this love into his horses – this time for show, rather than agricultural labor.

Rolland trained eight purebred Belgian draft horses for his famous six-horse hitch (two were alternates). Attached to a turn-of-the-century Studebaker wagon emblazoned with “Ruby Realty,” Rolland would show his six-horse hitch at countless parades, exhibitions and competitions. “The horses were part of the family,” Jake explained.

It was in 1970, when Rolland took his horses to the Wisconsin State Fair (where he had been superintendent for 40 years), that Jake was introduced to his wife Gay. As Fairest of the Fair, Gay rode in the wagon with Rolland around the fairgrounds. Partway through the fair, Rolland suggested that Jake take the wagon for a spin. “The fair was good to me,” Jake added with a smile. Jake and Gay have now been married for half a century.

Rolland died in 1990, and the last of the horses left the farm at that time. Jake continued to keep up the family real estate business, managing the Ruby Isle Shopping Center for decades.

In 2016, Jake sold Ruby Isle to a management company. Now, he and his wife Gay live a quiet life on Pewaukee Lake. They are thankful for all the love and support the Brookfield community has shown their family over the years and they hope everyone know they, Rolland, and all the other past and present Ruby family love Brookfield right back.

“Rolland was known as a man who was honest and just,” Jake said. “He was a real supporter of Brookfield as an area. He really believed in it. We do, too.

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Please contact David Tollefson with thoughts or comments on this or future columns at: adtollef@hcinet.net