The story of Lafayette Creamery begins in 1757 with the birth of Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette. There is no familial connection between Lafayette and a Dutch immigrant dairy farmer who landed in Hopkins, MI in 1965 with his bride, but there is a kindred spirit of courageousness, adventurism, and high ideals that binds these dates and a 3rd which encompasses the 2016 founding of Lafayette Creamery.
One of the first questions we encounter relates to the name “Lafayette Creamery”—here is how it developed. A number of years ago my 5 year-old was taken with books on military history, we read book after book of George Washington and the Revolutionary War. Within one of these contained a snippet on the heroism of General Marquis de Lafayette and the important role he played in securing victory. Orphaned at a young age, he joined the French Royal Army at age 14 and gathered a group of soldiers at age 19 to travel to America to join the revolutionaries fighting for independence. Lafayette was appointed as a General in large part because of his ability to finance his fighting party, but he proved himself a capable leader winning battles that few believed he could. He was wounded in 1777 at the Battle of Brandywine and took respite camping with General George Washington.
Beyond the War he returned to France to continue the cause for liberty and independence and religious expression and eventually returned to America and visited every state in the Union alongside his friend, Benjamin Franklin.
It is beyond the scope in this place to detail his many accomplishments and beliefs except to say that he was a strong and inspirational individual. Be encouraged to read more through Cornell University’s collection of manuscripts by following this link:
https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/lafayette/index.html
With less fanfare than Lafayette, 1965 marked the year when John & Ann Ybema moved from sunny Southern California and landed in Hopkins, MI welcomed by a January blizzard. They took over a farm of 80 cows and 100 acres and proceeded to raise 5 children supported by the blessed beasts that make ice cream a possibility. John and Ann twice were named Dairy Farmer of the Year by the Michigan DHIA.
Lafayette Creamery was established in 2016 by the youngest son of John & Ann Ybema at the end of a strip mall near the single traffic light in Texas Corners, MI. We started making super-premium ice cream and served it out of a single dipping cabinet that first summer and by early 2017 we had found our way into our first grocery store, Hardings’ Market in Woodbridge Hills.
In 2020, brothers Steven & Martin, joined Lafayette Creamery with the purchase of an established ice cream shop in Paw Paw, MI and the purchase of a new production facility in Hopkins, MI—2 miles from the homestead established by John & Ann in 1965.
Just as John & Ann Ybema shared a kindred spirit with General Lafayette, we too share a kindred spirit with the many courageous American entrepreneurs who chase dreams seeking to fulfill their vision while seeking to provide something better to the public.
We are grateful for the opportunity to serve you our brand of delicious, refreshing, super-premium enjoyment in one of our scoop shops, at a live event, or through our grocery channel.
