Hugh Barber

The Holstein Creamery was one of the many small little creameries that dotted the Tillamook Valley. It was established in late 1917, at which time it became a member creamery of the Tillamook County Creamery Association.

In this photo from 1938, Hugh Barber, head cheesemaker at the Holstein Creamery, accepts a load of milk from one of the dairy farmers. All of the milk was weighed and tested before it was sent to one of the cheese vats. Tacked by the door was a tally sheet showing the pounds of milk received, which is how a farmer was, and still is, paid for their milk.

The second cheesemaker standing by the vat is monitoring the filling of the vat and the beginning of the cheesemaking process.

The Holstein Creamery was located on Third Street in Tillamook, just east of the fairgrounds. At one point it burned down, a common occurrence at creameries since hot fires were needed to create the steam used to heat the milk. The Holstein Creamery was rebuilt and operated until its owners, along with three other local creameries, merged and created the Tillamook Cheese & Dairy Association. Together with TCCA, the two groups built the new, centrally-located plant, which is still a part of our operating plant today.

The Holstein Creamery was torn down a few years ago.