In the largest sale in Tillamook County through 1968, County Creamery bought out Cheese & Dairy. The deal, worth more than $9,260,000 today, ended Cheese & Dairy’s operations. READ MORE
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Bombing at Dixon Home
On May 19, 1960, Beale Dixon’s home and car were bombed with dynamite. He told The Oregonian, “I just have no idea who would be wanting to do such a thing….” but many wondered if it was connected to a labor strike at the Tillamook cheese factory a year earlier that didn’t conclude until Oregon’s… READ MORE
Cheese & Dairy Loses Agriculture Dept. Lawsuit
The Oregon Department of Agriculture sued Cheese & Dairy to force payment to members of the Tillamook Fluid Milk Shippers Association, or Shiveley Shippers. That group had withdrawn from Cheese & Dairy in 1963 to ship milk to County Creamery. After numerous appeals, Judge Combs ruled that Cheese & Dairy had to pay. Cheese &… READ MORE
Foremost Begins Marketing Premium Brand Cheese
In September 1965, Cheese & Dairy announced that Foremost Dairies would age and market Premium Brand cheese products. The amicable arrangement lasted through March 1967, when Cheese & Dairy repurchased its inventory so it could provide a greater return to its members. By then, Cheese & Dairy was looking for every possible financial advantage to… READ MORE
Accounting Lawsuit Filed Against County Creamery
In 1965, Cheese & Dairy sued County Creamery, alleging accounting errors, such as being owed $1,782,655 in assets ($10,222,693 in 2025 dollars), $237,818 from cheese held and sold ($2,431,141), and $285,563 in debts ($2,919,223). (Credit: The Oregonian, 5.18.65) READ MORE
1961 Emergency Bill Stabilized the Price Paid to Milk Producers
In 1961, Oregon dairy farmers hurriedly put together a legislative bid because the price for their milk had suddenly dropped 19 percent. Three hundred farmers encouraged legislators to pay attention by gathering one evening in Salem. The Producer Milk Stabilization Law, passed by the legislature in only 2.5 weeks, directed the Oregon Department of Agriculture… READ MORE
County Creamery’s Bookkeeping Errors Noted by Cheese & Dairy
Cheese & Dairy’s board of directors hired an auditor and shared the results with the patrons in a Feb. 14, 1963 “Board Information” message. The auditors found numerous bookkeeping errors. Eight of the directors spent their own money to copy and mail the information. The entire letter is provided below. “February 14, 1963 To members… READ MORE
Confrontation at County Creamery Office
In late August 1963, two Red Clover Cheese Factory board members went to the Tillamook County Creamery Association’s office to retrieve their factory’s files. Bert Quick and Bass Tone were stopped by a guard and the association manager, Beale Dixon. TCCA, the marketing organization selling all of Tillamook’s cheese, including Red Clover’s, was storing each… READ MORE
Storage of Cheese in Main Factory
After the large factory was built north of Tillamook in 1949, cheese was stored and aged uniformly in refrigerated rooms. Some of the wheels of cheese were being stored because production outstripped sales. Credit: (top) Northwest Digital Heritage; (bottom) Tacoma Public Library, D67477-89, Richards Studio READ MORE
Large Cheese Produced for California Market
In an early example of successful marketing of its Premium Brand, Cheese & Dairy sold a 10,000-pound wheel of cheese to a California grocery store in 1964. From left: Vern Lucas, George Milne, Bass Tone, and store owners. In the small image, the completed cheese is crated for shipping, and Bass Tone and the co-owner… READ MORE
