Once upon a time, in a decade called the 1970s, relief came in the form of convenience. Dinner “food” consisted of Hamburger Helper®, Shake ‘n Bake®, and pre-packaged TV dinners. Cheese? Well, let us tell you — it was something else altogether. Americans enjoyed their “cheese” as slices of orange, rubbery, plastic squares.

Fortunately, Mary Keehn, a self-proclaimed “serious hippie” and single mother of four, lived in a different world. In search of healthy milk for her children, Mary noticed a neighbor who had goats for brush control. She asked her neighbor if she could buy two of her goats and the neighbor replied with a grin, “Honey, if you can catch ‘em, you can have ‘em.” So a determined Mary went out with grain each day and eventually lured her first two goats: Esmeralda and Hazel. Those two goats turned to four and pretty soon Mary had, well, more. A lot of goats means a lot of milk, so Mary tried her hand at making cheese.