Blaser Family Brown Swiss (Tillamook) is a family-based group dedicated to preserving Swiss customs and traditions in Tillamook County. They keep the tradition of Poya, an annual Swiss parade where farmers guide their cows through town. They also raise a heritage breed of Brown Swiss dairy cows.
Bio
Blaser Family Brown Swiss, headed by Clara Blaser and her father Tom Blaser, continues traditions of the Swiss Dairy Farmers that immigrated to Tillamook in the early 1900’s. Their Swiss ancestors brought with them a strong work ethic focused on dairy farming. Dairy farming traditions have echoed in Tillamook, such as the Poya, an annual parade in Switzerland where farmers drove their cows through towns and pushed them up into the mountains for superior grazing lands. They would adorn their cows with flowers and bells as to keep track of them as they wandered towards the mountains. Tillamook farmers parade their cows through town as a part of this process.The Blaser family has farmed and breed dairy cows for generations. Clara Blaser now manages and shows a small herd of Brown Swiss cows. Annually, the family adorns a Brown Swiss cow with bells and the family dresses in regalia and traditional clothes, such as a Dirndl, traditional Swiss dress. The Blaser Family has walked the Tillamook June Dairy Parade every year since 2015, exhibiting at the Tillamook County fair since 2022, and engages in fundraisers and public events
