Cheese Making in Lloydsville, NY in 1895

 

The cheese factory description was written by Chester J. Wing whose father ran the factory a short distance from Unadilla Forks.  The manuscript was provided by Mrs. Twila G. Adams of Stow, Ohio and transcribed by Jerry Jones.  For more details regarding the history of Unadilla Forks please visit the following web site:  http://home.roadrunner.com/~Unadillaforks

 

 

The next paragraph gives a brief history of Chester’s father, K. J. Wing, as reported in 1903.  I believe the “K” stood for Kendrick.

 

Elmwood is the name of the small but fertile farm of 50 acres owned by Mr. K. J. Wing.  It is located on the Unadilla Forks and Leonardsville Road; both of these villages furnish good markets.  It supports a dairy of 20 cows, and there are still enough ground left to grow some oats, corn, hay, etc.  Mr. Wing was born February 19th, 1855, in the town of Burlington, where he lived until 13 years of age, when he moved to Plainfield with his parents.  His father’s name was Leander J. and his mother’s Mary Wells.  He was married January 6th, 1880, to Ella V. Rogers, daughter of Denison Rogers and Amanda Burdick Rogers.  “Elmwood” came into possession of Mr. Wing on the death of his father, June 26th, 1838.  Mr. Wing has a delightful family consisting of his wife, two daughters and two sons  Lillian F., Mary A., Chester J. and Dwight R.  In addition to his farm Mr. Wing owns and conducts a cheese factory established by his father in 1869, with a yearly output of about 112,000 pounds.

 

I thought it might be of interest to my children and grandchildren just what was involved in the making of cheese as I remembered it back in the years from 1895 to 1900.  Not being very old at the time there will probably be many things that I do not remember but will try and see how I make out.  I will first describe the land and building on which the factory was located and then step by step will explain what was involved in cheese making.

 

Land and Building

 

At Lloydsville there is a parcel of land bordered on the east by East River Road, on the south by the Skaneateles Turnpike, on the west and north by the farm owned by yours truly.  This land contains 0.75 acre.  After I bought the farm this parcel was included on the deed.  On this land was erected a building about 40 ft by 30 ft then known as the tavern.  People would stop off for the night with their turkey and sheep on their way to Albany.  The ground floor consisted of three large rooms:  a parlor-sitting room, a kitchen beside a hall with cupboards along the full length and a bedroom.  Upstairs there was a hall, two bedrooms and along the north side there was a room that extended the whole length of the building.  This room was known as the “Ball Room” where events were held.

 

The Cheese Factory

 

Directly west of this building and attached to it was another building that had two floors at different levels.  The first level was about 10 feet wide and 30 feet long.  The weigh-can and scales were located here.  The vats, cheese press and water barrel were located in another room that was about 4 feet lower.

 

Taking the Milk

 

When the farmers came with their milk, it was emptied into the weigh-can by means of a crane.  The crane looked like the letter “L” but inverted.  The cans were raised and lowered by means of a crank.  The crane could swivel over the wagon, attach to a can, raise up to clear the wagon and dump into the weigh-can.  Here it was weighed and the number of pounds contained was tabulated opposite each farmer’s name.  After they had emptied their milk they would drive down the hill where the whey tub was located and fill their cans with whey to take home to feed their pigs.  Each farmer was then supposed to wash his cans.  I guess the Board of Health, if there was one in those days, was not as particular as they are today. 

 

Preparing Milk for Cheese Making

 

The next step involved adding coloring and rennet.  The rennet caused the milk to curdle.  After the milk curdled, it was cut up into small pieces.  This was done with a knife-like tool with long blades which ran lengthwise or vertical.  After cutting this way, another blade was used which cut the milk crossways so after the process the milk was cut into small chunks.

 

Stirring Vat

 

This operation was done with a common wooden rake like what the farmers used to use in while haying.  The steam was then turned on.  The vats were constructed so that there was a space of about 4 inches below the vats that was filled with water.  Steam pipes ran through the water the whole length of the vat.  The steam running through these pipes would make loud cracking and banging noises, so loud you could not hear anything.  During this time the vat was hand stirred back and forth until the curd was cooked and the thermometer registered 100 F degrees. 

 

Running off the Whey 

 

This was done by means of a siphon or a 1.25 inch pipe with one end about 2 inches shorter than the other bent in the form of a “U”.  The pipe was filled with whey and the two ends covered with your two hands.  The short end was placed in the vat and the long end ran down the outside all the time keeping your hand over the pipe.  When you took your hand away the whey started to run.  The whey ran through troughs into whey tubs where the farmers could take it to feed their pigs.

 

Grinding Cheese

 

When the whey had all run off, this left the cheese covering the bottom of the vat about 2 inches deep.  The cheese had to be cut into strips and packed on either side of the vat.  The grinder was then placed on top of the vat.  It had two cutting edges and by turning the crank, it would cut the curd into small pieces.  Salt was added at this time.  The curd was then put into hoops that were lined with bandage and then filled and put in the press where they remained all night.  The next morning they were taken out and carried up stairs to the Ball Room.

 

The Ball Room

 

The Ball Room was used as a cheese room where the cheese was stored.  It had long counters extending the whole length of the room; one along the north side and the other through the center of the room.  The center counter was wide enough to hold for cheese side by side.  The center counter could probably store 150 cheeses and the one along the side 50 more.  Every morning they had to be turned bottom side up.  This was done so they would hold their shape and to make them more firm. 

 

Shipping Cheese

 

When the cheese was ready for sale, they were weighed and boxed.  The weight of each cheese was placed on the box along with the brand which signified the place where they were made.  It was necessary to keep a record of he weights in order to know the number of pounds shipped.  Farmers would take turns drawing them to the railroad station.  A long ladder reached from an upstairs window to a wagon and the cheese was placed on the ladder one at a time.  The cheese was allowed to slide down the ladder while the rope held it back.

 

Farmers Getting Paid

 

After a few days a check would come to pay for the cheese.  It was then necessary to find out how many pounds of milk it took to make that many pounds of cheese in the same allotted time.  By dividing the pounds of milk by the pounds of cheese, one could determine the number of pounds of milk to make a pound of cheese.  Each farmer was then paid according to the pounds of milk they delivered in that same time period.

 

Boiler Room

 

The boiler room was located just outside the factory.  It consisted of an upright boiler with a fire box at the bottom with a door through which soft coal was shoveled.  At the top was a smoke stack which belched forth black smoke.  The boiler also powered a whistle that was blown every noon. This whistle, along with the one at the Leonardsville shops, made the valley ring.

 

I have tried to describe the amount of time and labor involved every day of the week including Sundays, over a period from April 1st to October 15th by my father who made cheese making his life’s work.