Free food, live music and a beer garden

By Robert Williams

Editor

This Friday, Sept. 5, Ketter’s Meat Market is celebrating a century in business exactly 100 years from its original date of the store opening on Sept. 5, 1925.

There will be free cake and ice cream beginning at 2 p.m., at the meat market, and Ketter’s old fashioned wieners will be served beginning at 4 p.m. Ketter’s and Frazee VFW Post 7702 will be hosting a beer garden until 11 p.m., on West Main Avenue between the two businesses with live music starting at 5 p.m., performed by 32 Below’s Tyler Steinle.

Ketter’s was opened in 1925 by Edward and Frank Ketter upon purchasing the market from Ted Buekle on Sept. 5. Ed was one of seven brothers, all of whom were butchers. The original Ketter’s frame structure stood in the center of the present three-lot business. The partnership ceased with the death of Frank in July of 1935. 

Ed was born in Brandon in 1898 and worked in meat markets in Alexandria and Minneapolis before moving to Frazee in 1925. Katherine Lachowitzer was born near Vergas in 1900 and moved to Frazee in 1923 where she worked at Dr. Arndt’s Hospital. The two were married in 1930 and ran the meat market for the next three decades. The couple had four children Kenneth, Rex, MaryAnn and Edna.

With the exception of six months, when the City Meat Market was operated by Curtis Tollin, the Ketters have continued in the meat business. Kenneth purchased the Locker Plant from the creamery and combined it with their Meat Market. 

When the Ketters sold the business to Kenny in 1960 and “retired” it was said “you can find them there almost every day.” That trait has jumped to the third generation as Kenny is now retired, but never far away from the market working with two of his sons Kevin and Kraig. Now 88-years-old, Kenny still has a watchful eye on the business, including keeping up with all the old family recipes.

The frame structure was torn down to create Ketter’s Meats and Locker Plant in 1960—a new modern plant was built using the old bakery and printing press building, owned by Barney Aldrich, as part of the structure. In 1989, a third lot was purchased. This was a vacant lot owned by Quentin Walseth. It formerly housed Hall’s Harness Shop and Harmer’s Barber Shop. Another building was built, which houses the frozen food lockers at the present time.

Kenny married Joan Gibbons and the couple raised five sons around the business: Kevin, Keith, Kyle, Kraig and Kent.

The business changed family hands when Kevin and Kraig purchased Ketter’s from their father in 2002. Kevin’s daughters Brooke and Brittany Kangas joined the fold. Brittany is the current face of the front counter and represents the fourth generation at the market. Her son Dillen Kangas has joined the family workforce as the first member of the fifth generation. 

Editor’s note: The Forum will have full coverage of Friday’s celebration, including interviews and photos.