A vintage Tillamook Cheese advertisement from 1942

Here’s something brand new to the archives. Well, it’s old, but new to me! Thanks to the generous contribution of one of our fans, this 1942 ad that ran in Sunset magazine is now a part of TCCA’s archives. In addition to educating the consumer as to what made Tillamook unique and how it came by its “rich, racy flavor,” we also often shared recipe ideas. I’m not so sure about trying the salad mold, but the frankfurter sandwiches may be worth a shot!

By Chandra

Vintage Tillamook Ice Cream cartons

Way back when, in the mid-1930s, a committee of the Tillamook Country Creamery Association (TCCA) board of directors recommended that Tillamook experiment with making ice cream. The committee felt that a small-scale could easily meet any local demand, and the expansion of ice cream production would depend on the success of local sales.

Unfortunately, our archives are lacking in details about what happened after that recommendation. Did we make ice cream or not? We do know that by 1947 ice cream was made locally in small amounts. But it wasn’t until 1949, when the new plant was constructed, that Tillamook really dived into making the sweet treat on a larger scale.

We started with Frosty 4, a 4 percent butter fat ice milk, which came in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry ripple and chocolate ripple; Tillamook Maid, a 10.5 percent butterfat ice cream; and a few novelty items like sundae cups. Tillamook Ice Cream was sold all around town, up into Clatsop County and south to Lincoln County.

In 1972, we began a half-gallon line of premium ice cream in a selection of flavors. With a big marketing push, our ice cream made its way into the Portland market. Being able to enjoy an ice cream cone at an outlet such as the Oregon Zoo gave people outside of Tillamook an opportunity to taste our ice cream and, hopefully, fall in love with it.

Filling Tillamook Ice Cream cartons

Another avenue for making devotees of Tillamook Ice Cream was through our Visitors Center (the Tillamook Cheese Factory). When we expanded the Visitors Center in 1979, a dipping counter was added that could hold 16-tubs of ice cream. Sales grew immensely, prompting the dipping counter to move three different times to accommodate the growing demand before settling in its current spot. Today, the downstairs dipping counters can hold 80 tubs of ice cream!

Stop by the Tillamook Cheese Factory and enjoy an ice cream in honor of National Ice Cream Month!

By Chandra

A vintage Tillamook Ice Cream truck

July 9 marks the 27th anniversary since former president Ronald Regan signed a proclamation stating that July is Ice Cream Month. He proclaimed that “ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by over 90 percent of the people in the United States.” July also happens to be the month when the most ice cream is consumed in the United States. Coincidence? I think not!

I consider the history of ice cream to be shaded by legends and stories. There are different references and stories about when, where and who first made ice cream. One story even includes Roman Emperor Nero. I think it makes ice cream seem old and mysterious. And it is! The process of turning milk, with some added cream and sugar, into a frozen, sweet concoction that comes in an assortment of flavors is amazing! And so very delicious. Yummm…

Our own history with ice cream is a little mysterious, too. By mysterious I mean lacking in historical information. Unfortunately it is one of the areas in our archives with holes in it. What our history says is that sometime in the 1930s, a committee of board members recommended to the entire board of directors to consider making ice cream. In their report the committee expressed, “We do not think it wise to attempt this on a large scale, but to begin with as more or less of an experiment perhaps.” Look where that experiment is today!

Stay tuned for more Tillamook Ice Cream history. Until then, enjoy a bowl of ice cream in celebration of Ice Cream Month. I know I will!

By Chandra

Historical photo: A float in the Tillamook June Dairy Parade

June is Dairy Month! And since Tillamook County is a proud dairy community, the county is gearing up for fun and festivities and celebrating with the June Dairy Parade on Saturday, June 25.

The national June Dairy Month promotion got started in 1937. But it appears that Tillamook was so proud of its dairy industry that the first local dairy celebration was held in the 1920s, so says an old-timer who watched the parade as a young lad. I don’t know what happened in all the years after that first parade, but the beginning of the annual celebration as we know it today kicked off in 1957.

Tillamook’s first June Dairy Month celebration had a number of activities, including a cow milking contest for the local mayors. Bob Ely, who was festival chairman and a TCCA employee, stated that “a good time was had by all,” even though the parade was delayed by rain. Nowadays the parade is held rain or shine. What’s a little rain?

By 1961 the event had turned into a festival. Four mayors competed in the cow milking contest; the Lions and Kiwanis groups held a tug-of-war contest; there were milk drinking and ice cream eating contests for fifth and sixth grade boys; two dances were held and, of course, the fourth annual June Dairy Parade, which concluded with the coronation of the Tillamook County Dairy Princess.

In 2003, TCCA began sponsoring the parade in an effort to keep the tradition active in the community. Today, Tillamook County’s June Dairy Parade is one of Oregon’s largest parades, averaging about 150 entries.

The 2011 parade will be Saturday, June 25, at 11 a.m. Come and join the fun!

By Chandra

1962 June Dairy Parade in Tillamook, OR

We’re gearing up for the June Dairy Parade, and what’s a parade without royalty waving to the crowds? In the 1962 June Dairy Parade, Tillamook County Dairy Princess Bonita Nielson and her court waved to the crowd. It was a soggy day, evidenced by the princesses wearing jackets over their fine dresses.

But the parade must go on, rain or shine! Kristen Kaste, the 2011 Tillamook County Dairy Princess-Ambassador, will host the Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador, Jessica Budge, and her court at this year’s parade on Saturday, June 25. Come out and enjoy the fun!

By Chandra

… And it’s time to celebrate!

Across the nation, celebrations are taking place to honor all things dairy, from the farmer to the yummy dairy products they help produce. This year marks the 74th celebration of the annual promotion.

In 1937, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores sponsored a milk promotion. The objective was to show goodwill toward dairy farmers and to increase milk sales during the month, which is a time of peak production. Originally called National Milk Month, the promotion ran from June 12 through July 10. It was supported by the National Dairy Council, which supplied promotional materials to the participating stores. By 1939 the event was officially called June Dairy Month.

June Dairy Month has become a successful public relations campaign for the dairy industry with national support from retailers, producers and processors.
 
Celebrate June Dairy Month with us! Enjoy one of our delicious Tillamook dairy products in a salute to our dairy farmers. Or if you’re in the area, watch the Tillamook County June Dairy Parade on Saturday, June 25, at 11 a.m. Come and join the fun!

By Chandra

Alder Vale Creamery (1940s or 1950s)

In the early days of TCCA, the membership was different. Today, we are a cooperative of family dairy farmers. Back in 1909, when TCCA was organized, it was a cooperative of creameries. The creameries dotted the Tillamook Valley, from north to south and east to west. One such creamery was Alder Vale.

Alder Vale was a tiny little place. It was located in the Nehalem area, which is north of the city of Tillamook. For a period of time, the entire staff at Alder Vale was one cheesemaker, Harold Fogg. Alder Vale received so little milk, cheese sometimes was only made every other day.

Alder Vale existed prior to joining TCCA, but it doesn’t show up on TCCA’s annual report until 1915. This photo of the little creamery was taken later, perhaps late 1940s or early 1950s. You can see that a farmer is delivering his milk. Milk was still being dropped off in cans at that time, although the transportation method was by truck instead of horse and wagon.

By Chandra

Farmer Hiram Smith hand milks a cow in 1912.

Milking a cow is a labor intensive process. When a cow enters the parlor, her teats are cleaned and dried. The milk is visually inspected and the milking unit is attached. About 6-8 minutes later, the unit comes off and the teats are dipped with an iodine solution to prevent bacteria entering the teat canal. At each farm, a milker preps every milking cow the same way. Depending on the herd size, parlor size and number of hands to help, milking takes an average of three hours.

That’s a very condensed version of today’s process. But going back as early as 60 years ago, milking a cow was a little different.

Enter the stool, bucket and hand-power.

Back then, the farmer would sit on a stool within reach of the udder and hand-milk the cow into a bucket. Perhaps they were hoping the cow wouldn’t be ornery and kick the bucket, or worse, kick the farmer. The milk would be poured into a milk can and transported to a creamery by way of horse and wagon. Some of our local farmers also remember their parents or grandparents setting the milk cans in a stream to keep them cool before going to the creamery.

Milking took more time back then and herds were smaller, perhaps only 30 cows as compared to today’s average of about 250 cows. In this photo from 1912, Hiram Smith is milking one of his cows. I wonder if he could ever imagine a faster process. Hmm… he was probably thinking instead, “Take the photo so this cow don’t kick me and I can get back to work!”

Computers feeding cows, automated milking, refrigerated bulk tanks, and 50,000-pound tanker trucks – my how times have changed.

By Chandra

Making and packaging "Club Cheese" cheese spreads, 1949.

Cheese spreads, the yummy product that can be spread on crackers, celery sticks, bread, or whatever else you have a mind to spread it on for tasty snacks.

We first dived into making cheese spreads, called “Club Cheese” at that time, in the late 1940s. When our plant was constructed in 1949, it included a packaging room for rindless cheese and Club Cheese production. Club Cheese was made from trim pieces that resulted in cutting down the larger rindless blocks into smaller consumer-friendly weights. To make the spreads, the trim pieces were ground up and mixed with flavorings. It was then “packaged in a sausage-shaped pliofilm wrappers that keep the cheese fresh and moist,” so stated a 1951 promotion. It could be spread or sliced, making it the perfect size to serve on crackers.

We started with simple flavors: aged cheddar, garlic flavor, and smoke flavor. Then we got a little more adventurous and added onion and bacon flavors to the line of Club Cheeses.

This photo from 1949 shows the steps in the process: The grind machine to grind the trim pieces, the mixer to add in flavors, the “stuffer” to package the cheese into the casings, and the final weighing of the packaged product.

Today, we offer four flavors of cheese spreads, which are only available at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

By Chandra

A vintage Tillamook Cheese advertisement

Here’s a fun promotional piece from our archives. I have no information on it, including its date. Although I do know that if published, it would have been in the late 1940s at its earliest since the Medium Cheddar Cheesewas listed as our rindless variety. Date and usage aside, the drawing is what caught my attention. The little wedge of cheese biting the man’s tongue reminds me of a little puppy playing tug-of-war with a chew toy. We sure knew how to get people’s attention!

By Chandra