Tillamook Cheese packaging department, 1975

This is one of my favorite photos in our company archives. It shows some of the ladies from our packaging department in 1975. It’s their hair. The tall beehive hairdos perfectly covered in a giant hairnet with the little ruffle at the edge. It makes me smile every time I run across this photo. I hope you enjoy it, too. 

Today, Good Manufacturing Practices requires all employees in the cheesemaking or packaging areas to wear hairnets and completely cover their hair to protect product integrity. The hairnets aren’t this large anymore. Then again, neither are the hairstyles!

By Chandra

Chris Wyss clears some land with a team of horses while his son Raymond catches a ride, circa 1923.

Life was difficult for the settlers in the Tillamook Valley when they first arrived in the mid-1850s. Without Highway 6 to make the trek from Portland to Tillamook, they hiked or rode a horse over the mountain, climbing through the underbrush, hopping over fallen logs, splashing through rivers and streams, only to show up days later in a rough and wild area covered in trees. The lush, green pastures you see today weren’t here at the time. They had to be cleared… by hand. 

Clearing the land was not easy. A standing tree was cut down and used for firewood or lumber. Then the remaining stump was removed. Using just shovels, axes and saws, every root was dug up. Once free from the ground, a team of horses hitched to the stump and dragged it to a pile of stumps, branches and other burnable debris. The pile grew into a giant pyramid the settlers called a “Tillamook volcano.” When the wood was dry enough to burn, the pile was set on fire. The clearing continued for more than a century. Today, we appreciate the hard work put forth by those settlers. Their hard work and determination made way for the beautiful pastures where cows graze and neighborhoods exist.

By Chandra

Do you prefer the black label, blue label, or the iconic orange? Nowadays we have colorful wrappers to catch your eye and, at a glance, tell you what flavor of Tillamook Cheese is hidden within. But what did we do way back when cheese didn’t come in wrappers? Well, it wasn’t nearly as pretty, but it sure did get the message across that the cheese was genuine Tillamook Cheese.

In the old days, cheese was commonly made in wheels. Once at the store, a wedge would be sliced out and wrapped in a piece of brown paper. No one could be sure they were getting genuine Tillamook Cheese once it was cut! As the market for our cheese grew and we began to look into advertising, we knew that needed to change. The answer – stencil the word “Tillamook” on the rind of every wheel and block that passed our quality inspection.

Before being dipped in paraffin, wheels were rolled across a long, flat stencil, printing the word “Tillamook” on the rind with a purple vegetable dye. No longer would there be any doubt – every slice was identifiable as genuine Tillamook Cheese, and “Look for Tillamook on the rind” became our first advertising campaign slogan. But that’s a story for another day.

Oh, and personally, I prefer the black label. Yummy!

By Chandra

We’ve used some very creative advertising to promote Tillamook Cheese directly to our consumers. Do you remember the Swiss Knights who came to steal the cheese? Or how about the Vintage Ladies who “don’t doll up for just any ol’ cheddar.” Today, we’re sharing the Loaf Love.

It all started in 1917 when we decided we were ready to nationally advertise our cheese. Instead of marketing to the trades or the stores that would carry our cheese, we wanted to speak directly to our consumers. “A vigorous plan of advertising… would do wonders in increasing the consumption and distribution of Tillamook Cheese,” wrote our new advertising agency. We were ready. We budgeted $5,000 for an advertising plan that included Los Angeles, Portland, and San Francisco. That’s a pittance compared to what advertising costs nowadays! The first newspaper ads appeared in March 1918. Two years and lots of sales later, we knew we were on the right path and increased the advertising budget to $14,000!

The rest, as they say, is history.

By Chandra