The first Empire Cheese Factory was built in the late 1870s on the farm of John Haig who was the first cheesemaker. The second cheese factory was built just to the east of the present factory. Some of the cheese makers in that plant were Tom Naylor, Charles Stephens, Jack Kitchen, Bob Maybee, and Les Shillinglaw. In the fall of 1952 the Kimberley Cheese Factory burned and in 1953 Empire and Kimberley amalgamated forming the current Empire Cheese & Butter Co-op. That same year, the current cheese factory was built with Les Shillinglaw as the cheese maker. Les was followed by Don Pollock. Our current cheese maker is Mark Erwin.more...See more text
I have been going there since I was a little girl. My bus passed ot daily. Although I have moved away my family and I make a point of visiting everytime we pass it.
