When we go to the grocery store today and check the dairy section, we can find cheeses of all kinds and in many sizes and shapes of packages - lots of choices with fancy imported cheeses in some supermarkets or specialty stores. It's all good food.
A look back at the cheese industry in northeast Ohio and Trumbull County, we find that, at one time, this was the cheese-making capital of the country. Back in the mid- and late-1800s, our area was dotted with small cheese factories. According to the book, "Ohio Dairies," compiled by Lou and Sue McFadden, at one time, Trumbull County listed 18 small cheese factories.
In the 1850s and '60s a large number of small dairy herds were on farms in the area. They might have six or eight cows and seldom more than 12. Just the number one or two people could milk by hand.
Finding a market for their milk was a challenge for these small farms. Many of them made cheese in their homes, which was a way of concentrating the milk and putting it in a form that would keep without refrigeration.
My great-grandfather, who lived in Portage County after coming from Vermont in 1839, was one of those making cheese in his home. I still have his old hand cheese press that he used to squeeze the whey from the curds, along with a couple of forms. Many years ago, my dad gave the storage racks great-grandfather used to store and age the cheese to the Portage County Historical Society.
With so many cheeses made in homes, quality varied considerably. This hurt their markets. So small groups, maybe 40 to 60 farmers, would get together and build a small cheese factory to process their milk. It was made into cheeses of more uniform size and quality. Quality would vary, however, from factory to factory, and those making the best cheese would get the best prices and markets.
Since milk from these small farms was hauled to the cheese factory by horse and wagon, these factories were located such that the distance from the farms was not too far for the most distant ones. History says that often farmers with their horses and wagons would be lined up to deliver their milk.
At one time, 40-gallon cans were used to store and haul the milk to the cheese factory. Easier-to-handle 10-gallon cans soon came along.
Milk on the farm was cooled by well or spring water. Usually the morning's milk from the cows was not cooled at all before being taken to the cheese factory. So it needed to be made into cheese as soon as possible.
North Bloomfield, where I grew up, is listed with four cheese factories at one time. That indicates the number of small dairy herds there were in that township.
Recently, I was visiting with a family that had one of those old cheese factories on their farm. There was also a country store next to the cheese factory. This family still has some of the old record books that list the amount of cheese made each day and the price they got for that cheese. Farmers would be paid for their milk based on how much the cheese sold for, less the cost of making it.
Sometime I want to visit this family and see these old record books. The information would make an interesting story.
When people started to move into cities and motor trucks came along to haul the milk to plants that bottled and processed the milk, the small cheese factories were no longer needed. Another era and industry gone, as so many have over the years. Our country has changed, and along with it the many small industries that once were important to us. Change is inevitable.
Parker is an independent writer for the Tribune.