REGION
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
MILTON-FREEWATER
Andrea and Jeff Adams are cheese whizzes
The couple hangs
their cheese
business shingle
on Main Street
By AUTUMN
ALEXANDER
For the Walla Walla
Union-Bulletin
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Jeff and Andrea Adams
have advice you can take to
the bank: Be careful what
your kitchen hobbies are.
Almost two decades ago,
after their son’s dairy cow,
Toasty, began producing 12
gallons of milk a day, the
family decided “just for fun,”
to stir up homemade cheese
on the stove top. Now, the
couple steers a storefront in
Milton-Freewater that encom-
passes a full-fl edged artisanal
cheese company and more,
even as they both continue to
work at their original, agricul-
tural professions.
Andrea Adams is a
24-hour, large-animal vet
in Walla Walla. Jeff Adams,
besides being the full-time
cheesemaker, commutes to
Hermiston up to three days a
week consulting for a dairy-
cow replacement farm with
thousands of heifers. They’re
parents of two, now 25 and 27,
Brennan and Kalie, respec-
tively, and will celebrate 30
years of marriage this year.
They call their enterprise
the Walla Walla Cheese Co.,
but their shingle hangs on
Main Street in more aff ord-
able Milton-Freewater. There,
Greg Lehman/Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Walla Walla Cheese Co. owners Andrea and Jeff Adams take a moment June 22, 2022, in the
downtown Milton-Freewater storefront and production facility.
behind the gleaming, cool
cases and clean-cut, black-
and-white tile cafe, delicate
and careful chemistry goes on
in a commercial kitchen with
a few rooms full of specialized
equipment and temperature
controls.
The factory is not really
set up for tours, but private
arrangements can be made
to see the operation, though
much takes place at night
just by the nature of the time
cheese chemistry takes. The
recipes and enzymes they use
are from Wisconsin.
With the help of two full-
time employees, a couple
part-timers and summer
interns, there all the crafts-
manship occurs, plus curing,
cheese cutting, packaging
and labeling with the logo
Andrea designed. And then
Jeff delivers orders, now to at
least 20 diff erent retail outlets
and restaurants, in the Walla
Walla Valley, Tri-Cities and
Pendleton.
The factory’s stain-
less-steel refrigerator cases
hold tidy packets of local,
grass-fed meats, includ-
ing goat meat, containers of
straight-off -the-farm pasteur-
ized milk, and, of course,
weighty wheels of clas-
sic cheeses stacked like the
25-pound gold coins they are.
The Adamses share the
spotlight, however. Given
the wine tourists who come,
they have a convenient case
of imported cheeses for those
who want brie and other oozy
cheeses too. The store also
makes up charcuterie boards.
Though the cheese company
is a locovore’s dream, the
Adamses do ship cheese
ordered from their website.
Very carefully, and very cold,
Jeff underscores.
And no guest’s gaze can
help but flirt with flights
of freshly made ice cream,
a frozen concoction Jeff
considers “fast” compared to
cheese making. He admits he
has a fast-moving mind and
welcomes thinking during
the open moments that cheese
making and driving to and
from his consultant work
requires.
A not-unusual night for Jeff
Adams is pasteurizing milk
at the factory at 1:30 a.m.,
doing record keeping until
6:30 a.m., when he puts the
cheese enzymes in, waiting
to cut the curd of the binding
milk around 7:30 a.m., and
then hooping the cheese.
“Hooping,” he explained,
“is an old-world term for
packing soft curds into
cheese-cloth lined molds
that bind the cheese. Hoop-
ing in turn drains the whey,
the excess milky water after
cheese comes together. Some-
times this happens in round
forms that drain, or in these
big blocks we press under
weights.
“We learned the hard way
with the round molds and
gouda,” Andrea Jones said.
“You need to fl ip the cheese
like a pancake while it’s
processing itself, or it sticks;
you can’t get it loose and out of
the mold. We’ve had our share
of ‘chicken cheese.’ We exper-
iment, so the worst thing that
can happen is chicken cheese.
That’s when a batch fl ops. It
goes to the hens.”
Ten years ago, the couple
went to intensive seminars
at Washington State Univer-
sity and at Oregon State
University on making arti-
sanal cheeses. Plus working
for a decade on a dairy farm
in Tillamook provided them a
whole network to talk to and
gain experience from.
“We learned the science,
the pH, food safety, all the
basics of an artisanal cheese,”
Andrea Adams said. “We
were inspired to try to make
Greek halloumi, for example.”
They also mentioned
“terroir” influencing their
cheese. The term usually is
associated with wine and
refers to the complete natu-
ral environment that contrib-
utes to how a wine tastes. For
cheese, Jeff Adams said, it’s
the grass their cows eat.
“You can see the cheese
change color depending on
what time of year the grass is
in,” he said. “We partner with
the last family dairy farm
in the Walla Walla Valley,
Creamline Dairy, just west
of us. It’s Jersey milk. The fat
and protein are higher than
Holsteins’, especially this time
of year.”
They have experience with
big cheese making in Tilla-
mook, Jeff Adams said, where
all the cheese has to taste the
same.
“Nothing against Tilla-
mook; it’s great cheese,” he
said. “Our cheese costs a bit
more. It’s not for everyone.
Still, we have all the traffi c to
the store and demand we can
handle.”
Jeff Adams said he has
dreamed up at least 30 fl avors
of cheese during the 17 years
in the cheese making busi-
ness. The hot item now is fresh
cheese curds.
“We sell up to 1,000
pounds of them a week,
locally and as far as Kenne-
wick and Pendleton,” he said.
As for Walla Walla Cheese
Co.’s next steps, he said while
this pays its way, it’s not a
living, though they are evolv-
ing.
“Our question is how far
do you grow it?,” Andrea
Jones said. “I think if we’d
tried to plan this, it wouldn’t
have worked out.”
ATV rollover near Ukiah Irrigon welcomes business boom
requires search and rescue
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
East Oregonian
UKIAH — An all-terrain
vehicle crash Friday, Aug. 12,
near Ukiah resulted in one
person suff ering serious inju-
ries and requiring an emer-
gency helicopter fl ight.
The Umatilla County Sher-
iff ’s Offi ce reported the county
dispatch center that day at
9 a.m. received an emergency
notifi cation through Garmin
Inreach of an ATV rollover
with injuries in an area near
Ukiah.
Two passengers were
injured, the sheriff’s office
reported, one with minor
injuries and the other was a
woman who suff ered serious
injuries to her legs and hips.
Umatilla County Search
and Rescue responded and
located the woman on the
Frazier Creek Trail within the
Winom Fraizer OHV Recre-
ation Area, Ukiah.
Rescuers placed her in a
litter and carried her out by
hand on a narrow ATV trail
M-F police
investigating
Saturday shooting
MILTON-FREEWATER
— Milton-Freewater police
are investigating a possible
gang-related shooting from
Saturday night, Aug. 13,
that left bullet holes in two
vehicles outside the city’s
Community Building.
“The investigation is
ongoing,” Milton-Freewater
Police Chief Boedigheimer,
Doug reported.
According
to
Boedigheimer, the city’s
dispatch center at 10:06 p.m.
received a call reporting
multiple gunshots fi red near
the Community Building, 109
N.E. Fifth Ave. The city rents
the facility for various private
events and activities, and on
this date a family was holding
a large wedding there.
Off icers ar r ived at
10:12 p.m. and found bullets
hit two vehicles, but no people
were injured.
Police collected several
items of evidence, includ-
ing shell casings and a bullet
that was lodged in a vehicle.
The department stated it
would submit this for foren-
Capt. Sterrin Ward/Umatilla County Sheriff ’s Offi ce
Rescuers on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022 near Ukiah, load a woman
into an emergency helicopter after she suff ered serious inju-
ries from an all-terrain vehicle crash.
for a little more than half
a mile. A six-person team
rotated in the eff ort and placed
her in the back seat of a U.S.
Forest Service engine that had
backed up a very narrow old
logging spur that intersected
with the ATV trail.
The Forest Service vehicle
took her to the helicopter land-
ing zone, which fl ew her out.
The sheriff ’s off ice
reported it worked with
several agencies and individ-
uals in this eff ort, including
U.S. Forest Service crews and
Forest Service law enforce-
ment, Pendleton Fire &
Ambulance Service and inde-
pendent ATV operators.
For more information on
the volunteer Umatilla County
Search and Rescue Founda-
tion, including how to join and/
or donate, visit www.umasar-
foundation.org.
LOCAL BRIEFING
sic analysis and evaluation.
“Two persons of interest
are known,” according to
Boedigheimer, “and the inci-
dent is possibly gang related.”
Boardman seeks
city council
candidates
BOARDMAN — Board-
man is looking to fill two
vacancies on its city council.
The Boardman Clerk’s
Office announced the city
needs to fill the seat Katy
Norton left when she resigned
July 12 due to moving away
from the area. And Paul
Beagle’s resignation July 15
for personal issues created the
second opening on the coun-
cil. The city council accepted
both resignations at its Aug. 2
meeting.
Both terms expire Dec. 31,
2024. The Boardman City
Council is seeking letters
of interest from individu-
als willing to be considered
for appointment to fill the
vacancies. Anyone interested
must have resided in the city
of Boardman during the 12
months immediately preced-
ing the appointment and be a
registered voter, according to
the announcement from the
Boardman Clerk’s Offi ce.
Letters of interest must be
received no later than 5 p.m.
Aug. 24 to City Manager
Karen Pettigrew at Boardman
City Hall for consideration.
The city council will interview
the candidates, and appoint the
new councilors at the Sept. 6
council meeting.
In a related matter, the
fi ling deadline for residents
in Boardman seeking offi ce
in the November election is
5 p.m. Aug. 30.
The clerk’s offi ce reported
the city council has three posi-
tions open in the election with
terms ending Dec. 31, 2026.
Candidates must be at least 18
years old, reside within the city
limits and have lived within the
city limits 12 months immedi-
ately preceding election day
and be a registered voter no
less than 20 days immediately
preceding the election.
Residents who wish to fi le
for city council can obtain
fi ling packets Monday through
Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at
Boardman City Hall.
For more information on
local filing, call the clerk’s
offi ce at 541-481-9252 or visit
sos.oregon.gov/voting-elec-
tions.
— EO Media group
IRRIGON — Business is
back to booming in Irrigon.
Premises have opened up or
are under construction and
older establishments enjoy
new management. Supply
chain issues however have
slowed down some startups.
“Going from east to west
for new businesses in town,
let’s start with Family Dollar
Store,” City Manager Aaron
Palmquist said. “It’s coming
in and under construction.
Dollar Tree is a separate
entity.”
On the south side of North
Main Avenue is a fruit stand,
across from A. C. Houghton
Elementary School. At 810
N.E. Main Ave., the new
Garden Family Restaurant
serves Tex-Mex food.
“It’s doing great,” Palm-
quist reported. “Part of the
code allows living beside
businesses. It’s exciting to
have here, just off the high-
way.”
Java Junkies cafe lies a bit
farther west along Highway
730 at Division Road.
“It’s a franchise with the
one in Umatilla,” Palmquist
said. “They’re a great group
of young ladies. West of
them is a Latino restaurant
with great people, food and
prices.”
Taqueria Dona Mary is at
490 N.E. Main Ave., near the
Irrigon Minimart.
2022 Chevrolet
Equinox LT
$33,310.00
“The Minimart is putting
in a 76 gas station,” Palm-
quist said, “but the supply
chain has been a challenge.
They’re still waiting for stor-
age tanks to arrive.”
El Primo Mexican Grill
is at Fourth Street and High-
way 730.
“It was Sergio’s, but is
now under new ownership,”
Palmquist said. “Maria is
a great cook. It’s primarily
Mexican cuisine, but with
American food for break-
fast. They accommodate
a variety of tastes and are
doing excellently.”
To the west lies the Irri-
gon Store, consisting of a
Circle K and Shell station.
The Rustic Truck Bar and
Grill, a Pacifi c Northwest-
ern restaurant, is at 100 W.
Highway 730, across South
First Street from the Bank
of Eastern Oregon. On the
other side of the highway is
the Dollar General.
“Also on the north side of
730 is the Irrigon Medical
Clinic, near the new county
building,” Palmquist said,
with the Irrigon Board-
man Emergency Assistance
Center, 290 N.E. Main Ave.
Other new businesses
include home workers,
such as trucking deliv-
ery dispatchers, Palmquist
noted.
“This is an exciting
development,” he said, “but
for security reasons I can’t
say where they are located.”
And major developments
are coming, Palmquist said.
Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron
Wyden and Jeff Merkley
recently announced federal
appropriations included $1
million for Irrigon’s business
opportunity incubator.
“It’s to help low-income
and underserved community
members set up shops.”
The federal dollars are
to fund construction of
an approximately 10,000
square foot facility with a
certifi ed kitchen and space
for multiple uses, includ-
ing distribution, manufac-
turing and warehousing.
It would allow a variety of
small areas, with fl exibility
to house office space and
restrooms.
“For 10 to 15 years, Irri-
gon has wanted a certifi ed
kitchen,” Palmquist said.
“The city will help set it up,
then rent it out and use it to
sell products or send food to
schools.”
The new facility is to be
built where old, now-demol-
ished vacation rental cabins
stood on the south side of the
highway. Construction could
start in the spring.
“Besides the federal
funds, Irrigon also is getting
$250,000 from the Port of
Morrow to conduct engi-
neering and planning for
the incubation center,” Palm-
quist concluded. “We work
cooperatively for business
development here.”
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