Historic Hood River
Hood River Creamery
6-15-2011
Notes
The Hood River Creamery was on the SW corner of 6th and Columbia, an intersection which no longer exists. This is now part of a city parking lot across the street from the Full Sail Brewery.
The existence of a creamery in Hood River suggests there must have been some significant dairy farms nearby. Can anyone fill us in on the history of dairy farms in the Hood River valley?
Kate Dougherty
What years do you think the HR Creamery functioned?
After researching Lula Acree for Cemetery Tales last year, I learned there were many dairy farmers in the valley. The Acrees sent most of their product out of the valley. They helped many people start Jersey cow lines. 1920-1950.
Arthur
I see a small creamery on Columbia between 4th and 5th in the 1916 map. This larger creamery appears in the 1928 and 1942 maps. It had a 9 ton ice machine, and included an ice cream factory.
Charlott
Even in the ’50’s there were a number of people with dairy herds. One was the Gangwer family of Pine Grove, the Poole family in Odell, just to name a couple. I think the Doggett fAmily on Hwy 35 just below the little Mt. Hood community had a dairy herd. I am not saying that their product went to the Hood River Creamery but might have.
l.e.
When I parked in the back parking lot of Good News Gardening, I was remembering when there was a dairy herd back there.
Trout Lake and Glenwood had dairy herds. Possibly their cream was shipped to HR.
Although, I think in the 1920’s they had their own cheese factories.
Remember, this was before dairies were graded and most farmers had a small dairy herd.
James Holloway
In the mid-seventies I use to buy cow manure for my garden from a family on Portland Drive, about 3-400 yards up from Tucker Rd(Odell Hiwy), on the right….sorry I forget the owners name, but he was in his fifties, and he was second generation on that dairy farm. He grew up on the farm helping his Dad milk the cows, I think he sold his cows off early eighties, about the same time the Jones Boys Dairy(by Good News Gardening) closed too.
James
mandy
Jones Boys used to have the best milk and ice cream! Nothing like fresh milk from a cold glass bottle. I bet they would have a huge following if they were still in business.
David
Yes, Jones Boys. That had dairy cows that they even trucked into their Tucker Rd. store. My brother-in-law is descended from the Wade’s who started the Cheese Cave in Troutlake. The dairy must have come from somewhere and probably local.
Debbie
Yes, Jones Boys Dairy would have a HUGE following if they were to come back!!! Loved, loved, loved their products. As a matter of fact I just bought a 4-pack of their old milk bottles. I pour my milk out of the plastic and into their glass bottles. It stays fresh and super cold! Please come back Jones Boys, we miss you!! Bought all my milk products there in the 70’s-80’s!
J.E. Sheppard
The C.M. & W.O.Sheppard company occupies two buildings at !st & State streets. The west side of 1st is the old Taft Drayage building; the east side of 1st. is the old DAIRY COOP creamery. It was a creamery until some time in the 50’s, I believe, when it was sold and Dairy Coop became part of Mayflower Farms and occupied a new building near 13th & Wasco. They at this time operated a feed store and ice station for their trucks. Creameries hung on for quite a while here.
J.E. Sheppard
Another thing, I believe the building pictured became Howell Bros. Machine Shop, then Howell & Engle, then Engle & Bentley, then Engle & DeHart, the same Engle & DeHart that moved out to Tucker Rd. with a new building. It is now Schlosser Machine & Welding.
Michael Jones
My Parents and Uncle Owned Jones Boys Dairy until the competition was too great and we folded. Now that people are much more concerned about thier health and not just the price I bet it would do alot better now. It was great growing up in the farm enviroment. I wish we had kept more of the historical items. We have a couple cartons, bags, bottle, caps and a couple news paper clippings, but there was not much that we really saved. Lloyd Jones Sr. passed the business down to two of the sons Lloyd Jones Jr and my Gene Jones (My Father).
Michael Jones
Jeffrey Bryant
The Hood River Glacier, September 10, 1914, page 7, indicates the building for the Hood River Creamery was nearing completion.
http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn97071110/1914-09-10/ed-1/seq-7/
patrick Lee
I like to know more about current dairy farmers in the Mt Hood region.
Jeffrey Bryant
The Hood River Glacier, March 3, 1910, page 3
George Sharp has purchased the interest of his partner, A. C. Lotts, and is now sole proprietor of the Hood River Dairy.
Jeffrey Bryant
I see advertisements in the Hood River Glacier for Hood River Dairy beginning in May 1906.
Jeffrey Bryant
The Hood River Glacier, September 30, 1909
New Dairy Firm
A. C. Lofts and George Sharpe have purchased the Ellison dairy and will change the name to the Hood River Dairy. Mr. Sharpe has resigned his position with the Stewart Hardware and Furniture Co., to take effect in a couple of weeks, in order to go into the new enterprise. He makes the change in order to get outdoor work.
The new firm have acquired 20 cows from the Ellison dairy, and are fixing up the barn across the railroad tracks near the mill to hold 50 cows. They intend to increase their number to that number as soon as they get established. The barn will be arranged in the most sanitary manner, and they will invite the inspection of the public at all times.
L.E.
From the 1914 "The American Produce Review" volume 38 page 915
Hood River, Ore.—-The Co-operative Creamery Ass’n has leased from the Apple Growers’ Association, for 12 years, a lot south of the cold storage plant of the Apple Growers’ Union, on which a one-story creamery plant will be erected at once. A cold pipe will be laid to the Union ice plant and the new building will thus be refrigerated. With hundreds of cows having been brought here in the past year, there is a keen demand for the creamery.
Richard McConnell
I’ve collected dairy caps from Hood River and The Dalles. If anyone has any old dairy caps or information on these local dairies, please contact Rich@ 541-786-0204.
Amber Garza
My great Grandma was Lula Acree and my Grandmother was Alice Acree. They lived on a dairy farm in Hood River. I am attempting to do some family research. Any information about the Acree family would be appreciated. 916-662-2839
Westlake cannon
My grandfather owned a dairy on country club rd As we resently we’re remodeling the kitchen out of the attic fell statements and other paper work some of which had cooperative assn on them which led me to this site
Michele Johnson
Found an entire book of The Hood River Glacier" from 1926. Has ads from the Hood River Creamery…
Mike Delepine
I worked at Jones boys dairy in the early 70s until I graduated from Hood River Valley High in 1975 and moved to Portland to attend Portland State University.
Would love to see pictures from then, have also been looking for bottles.
It was my first hourly job, really learned a lot there, Gene Jones was my boss great guy!
No Milk cows on Tucker road,, but they did have calves and I got to feed them a couple different times when Gene’s parents were gone.
Gene’s brother Lloyd Jones had the main heard out in Dee, old, milk, tanker truck I can almost picture what it used to look like.
We process the milk using the vet pasteurization process, which made it taste, different, better, of course! Cream and chocolate, milk, and eggnog at Christmas time. Also, we sold Frans bread products.
We always wore one of those little caps that folded flat.