DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Oertli Dairy, out there in Travis County. Now, most families leave a mark on a place. The Oertli family left seventy-eight years worth of marks — and a park.
It starts in Ennenda, Switzerland, where a man named Fridolin Oertli was born. Folks called him Fritz, which tells you something about the man right there. In 1904, Fritz packed up his wife, Margaretha Schwendeler, and their first child, and he immigrated to Travis County, Texas.
A long way from the Swiss Alps, but Fritz was not a man who stood still. He purchased his own farm at Lytton Springs, near Lockhart and Buda, and got himself involved in the cattle business. Then, around 1923, Fritz made a pivot — he began operating a dairy on seven hundred acres of property on Shoal Creek.
Seven hundred acres. That is not a small dream. The dairy eventually moved to Cameron Road at Buttermilk Creek, and that's where Fritz and Margaretha lived out the rest of their lives.
Now here's the detail that'll stay with you: Margaretha made Swiss cheese, and Fritz yodeled for guests. You could not invent a better pair of details if you tried. A Swiss immigrant on the Texas frontier, yodeling on Buttermilk Creek.
The marker does not say whether the cattle appreciated it, but I'd like to think they did. When Fritz passed, three of his children carried the dairy forward — Fritz Jr., Kaster, and Margaret. The home milk delivery that the family had been running since the 1920s continued until 1950, when Fritz Jr. and Kaster made the call to stop it and sell their milk to Superior Dairies in Austin instead.
Times were changing. Then 1956 brought another turning point. The Buttermilk Creek property was sold to developers, and the two brothers decided to split into individual dairies rather than fold up entirely.
Fritz Jr. bought land east of Round Rock and ran his dairy all the way until 1976. Kaster and his wife, Meta, moved to 12422 Dessau Road in North Austin. When Kaster died in 1962, his son Jerry Oertli took over and kept that dairy going.
And going. And going. The Oertli Dairy outlasted every other dairy farm in Travis County.
When it finally closed its doors in 2001, it was the last one standing. The Holstein cattle were sold — declining milk prices, the difficulty of finding affordable labor, competition from large commercial dairies. The forces that end a family farm don't always announce themselves; sometimes they just grind until the math stops working.
But the land didn't disappear into a strip mall. The dairy property was dedicated to the City of Austin as Oertli Park. That's the family's name, right there on the map, right there in the city they helped feed.
Seventy-eight years. One family. Swiss cheese, yodeling, home delivery, and Holstein cattle — and in the end, a park where the pastures used to be.
The marker calls the Oertlis a reminder of the once-prevalent dairy farms of central Texas. I'd say they're more than a reminder. They were the last ones to turn out the lights.
What the marker says
The Oertli family owned and operated dairy farms in Travis county for 78 years, from 1923-2001. Fridolin ‘Fritz’ Oertli was born in Ennenda, Switzerland and immigrated to Travis County in 1904 with his wife, Margaretha Schwendeler, and their first child. Fritz purchased his own farm at Lytton Springs near Lockhart and Buda where he was involved in the cattle business. Around 1923, Fritz began operating a dairy on 700 acres of property on Shoal Creek. The dairy moved to Cameron Road at Buttermilk Creek where Fritz and his wife lived the rest of their lives, Margaretha making Swiss Cheese and Fritz yodeling for guests. Three of Fritz’s children, Fritz Jr., Kaster, and Margaret, continued the dairy business after the death of their father. Fritz Jr. And Kaster stopped home delivery that had been practiced since the 1920s and sold their milk to superior dairies in Austin in 1950. In 1956, the Buttermilk Creek property was sold to developers, so Fritz Jr. and Kaster decided to split into individual dairies. Fritz Jr. Bought land east of Round Rock and operated his dairy until 1976. Kaster and his wife, Meta, moved to 12422 Dessau Road in North Austin where his son, Jerry Oertli, operated the dairy after kKaster’s death in 1962. The Oertli Dairy was Travis County’s last dairy farm, closing its doors in 2001. The Holstein cattle were sold because of declining milk prices, difficulty finding affordable labor and competition from large commercial dairies. The dairy property land was dedicated to the City of Austin as Oertli Park. The history of the Oertli family and dairy farm are a reminder of the once-prevalent dairy farms of central Texas.