Nestled in the rolling hills outside of Galliapolis sits the Nolan Family Farm, also known as Laurel Valley Creamery. Current patriarch Nick Nolan's grandparents moved to the farm in 1947 and the family has kept it going since.
In 1994, Nick's grandfather Fuzzy was killed in a tractor accident and the farm began to decline after that. In 2005, Nick lost his job with General Mills and moved his family move back to the Galliapolis farm to make a living.
"It was tough knowing that it could disappear," said Nick. "I was born and raised here and didn't want to see someone else take it over."
"After I lost my job, it was either pack up and move to another place in the country to find a job or stay where we were at and make it work," said Nick.
The Nolans decided to stay in Galliapolis and carry on the tradition of their family's dairy farm. Nick and Celeste decided to make cheese instead of just selling milk, as it is a more lucrative business than just selling milk.
With Nick's severance package giving them some cushion, they gradually began the farm's transformation into a cheese making farm that could support their family, which now includes four children, ages 8, 6, 3, and three months. Nick also has two children from a prior marriage who live with his ex-wife nearby. Since 2009, the Nolans have been producing cheese commercially full time.
"I can remember my father and grandfather out milking cows and working the farm and I'd be running around with him," said Nick. "And now I'm doing the work and my kids are out and about with me. It's a lot of work, but it's nice to be around the family while I do it. It adds a lot more depth to the whole experience."
While Nick maintains that he wants his kids to do whatever they want in their future, he feels that they will probably inherit the farm from him in the future. "They seem to love it and I think that's the plan, for them to keep it going," he said.
Nick and his son Gus stand in the driveway at sunset. Scenes from Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
The sun rises over the Nolan’s family farm in Gallipolis. The family’s farming roots go back centuries and this piece of land has been in the family since 1947. Scenes from Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
Edgar Nolan, 8, at right, looks on as his father Nick Nolan spilt wood to use for a fire. They use the fire for heating their home and to heat their milk for pasteurization for their non-raw milk cheeses. Scenes from Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
From left, Nolan brothers Gus, 6, and Edgar, 8 ride in the back of their dad’s 1961 Chevy Apache as they ride toward the wooded part of the property to gather firewood. Gathering and chopping wood is a regular chore around the farm. The fire is used to both heat the home and to heat the milk for pasteurization. The family drinks all raw milk, but they make cheeses with both raw and pasteurized milk. Scenes from Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
Lilah, 3, and Edgar, 8, pick peppers for their mom’s pepper jack cheese as part of their weekend chores, at Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
Scenes from Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
Mom Celeste juggles the kids, from left, Gus, 6, Lilah, 3, and Harlan, three months, after a homecooked lunch. Most of the families meals are cooked with food from the farm and fresh food from the local market. Celeste says it is important to her to know where her food comes from for her family. Scenes from Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
Celeste Nolan cuts up the curds while she makes pepper jack cheese in the cheese house, at Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.
Three month old Harlan Nolan wears his bib while eating lunch. While Harlan is still being breast-fed, the Nolan family drinks raw milk from their farm rather than pasteurized milk. Nolan Family Farm, in Gallipolis, Ohio, Nov. 13, 2011.
Taking a brief break from working, Nick Nolan plays with his daughter Lilah at the family’s farm.
Nearing the end of a day’s work, Celeste and Nick share a moment with two of their children; Harlan, left, and Edgar, center., at Laurel Vallery Creamery, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2011, in Galliapolis, Ohio.