height as the milkhauler’s truckwagon. Early in the morning the hauler would pick it up and transport it to the cheese factory where the actual processing took place.

The cans were lifted onto a scale where they were weighed and an individual count kept for each farmer. The cans were then emptied into large vats. The vats were tanks with rounded bottoms. When one vat was filled, they moved on to the next one.

The factories were powered by steam fired generators, so the cheesemaker

and his assistant would have to get an early start in order to have the large tank of water heated before the milk arrived.

in the vats, the milk would be heated and rennet added to make it curd. Coloring was also added to give the cheese its deep yellow color. The curds were then placed in a press which squeezed out all the whey or excess water. The whey was flushed out through a pipe and put in the empty cans to be returned to some farmers who used it for pig feed.

The cheese was then wrapped in a loosely woven cotton fabric called cheesecloth. it was then hung in rows to dry. After drying and aging, the cheeses were packed in round light wooden boxes and transported by horse and wagon to the nearest Railway Station.

Cheese and Butter Factory at Little River

RED HOUSE DAIRYING ASSOCIATION

In 1892, Little River School was the scene of the very first meeting of the organization called the Red House Dairy Association. This group met to discuss the possibility of starting a cheese factory to serve the surrounding communities. Several men volunteered to canvass the areas and sell shares in the company, and each farmer was also asked to commit a certain number of cows.

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