At 88 years old, Rosanne Aspenson says it’s time to retire.
“It will be different,” said Aspenson. “Of course I got a lot of bookwork I can do for now, but I won’t have to get dressed up for the day.”
On the 55th anniversary of its opening, Westby Locker & Meats decided to close for good last week on Aug. 10.
For the final, “official” day, Rosanne sat in her usual spot: a small chair just around the corner from behind the cash register, slightly out of sight, slightly out of the way, but fully immersed in the action happening in the tight quarters of their shop at 406 N. Main Street.
Every couple minutes, the door would ding and another customer or two would walk in to peruse what was left in the coolers.
“It’s been steady,” said Aspenson, around 11 a.m. “We’re out of a lot of things already.”
Buzzing around her helping customers, or vacuum-sealing more meat for selling, was the rest of the family: two of her daughters Rhonda Rayburn and Reyne Larson, her sons Rod and Roland Aspenson, and granddaughters Amy Gerke and Miranda Larson, along with staff members Palmer Sordahl and Pat Compton.
At one point, flowers were delivered by her daughter-in-law Paulene Aspenson.
“You can count them, there’s 55 of them,” said Paulene.
To the tune of “Happy Birthday,” someone starts singing “Happy Retirement.”
Paulene and Rosanne pose with the bouquet as Rhonda documents the occasion with a photo, another memory and snapshot in time to add to the scrapbook or the corkboard that is already chock-full.
“It’s been a whirlwind being a part of a legacy,” said Amy. “It’s been my entire life… It’s gonna be hard but I know it’s time for my grandma and my dad to retire and do their own thing.”
A little over half a century ago, the Aspenson meat legacy began when Rosanne and her husband Ronald “Ronnie” moved to Westby to buy a butcher shop from Bob Galstad in 1971. After working a while in the Kroger meat department , starting in Richland Center and then transferring to Mauston, Rosanne says her husband was looking for something different when Kroger closed their Wisconsin stores. Ron has now been gone for over 20 years after passing away in 2005.
“He cut meat for the Krogers for years, but he had never butchered,” said Rosanne.
They started out focusing on butchering and processing meat, later expanding into selling retail fresh and frozen meat, and then eventually producing state, national, and international award-winning sausage and other processed meat products.
Rosanne says that they didn’t get into competing until Rod got more involved after graduating high school. He took charge of starting up the sausage part of their business in the late 80’s.
All of their awards, nearly 100 of them, line up high on the walls of the light-colored interior with trophies sitting on a book shelf in the storeroom where their variety of products – bacon, bratwurst, braunschweiger, bologna, and a bounty of others – sit behind clear glass doors in freezing or refrigerated climates.
“The first year, they won for beef jerky, but Ronnie had made that,” said Aspenson. “So then, a few years afterwards when they started going to conventions, [Rod] was very competitive.”
Rod’s daughter Amy joined him for the state, national, and international competitions, and continued attending conventions and shows when he couldn’t. She says one of their biggest years, and their last year participating in shows, was 2019. However, Amy added that the most notable year was 2005 when they won best in show for braunschweiger while her grandpa Ronnie was still alive.
“It’s been awesome to have this for my entire life,” said Amy. “From being a little girl to seeing this and everything it represents. It’s going to be hard, but it’s time.”
