The Harman Tradition,
as told by Maxine Aldrich

Exceptional quality products and customer service are the foundation for the Harman Tradition. It began in 1954, when John and Kate Harman retired from life in New York City and followed their dream to own a country store to quaint Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. Soon after, John and Kate were presented with a unique opportunity — to start a mail order business. In 1955, a salesman told John that his firm had discovered some cheese that had been “forgotten” for two years. John recognized the potential of selling “aged” cheese and purchased all of it, about a half ton, at 54¢ a pound. John used his advertising expertise to start a mail-order business with that half-ton of Cheese. Word of the magnificent flavor of Harman’s aged cheese began to spread, and soon customers began calling it the “World’s Greatest” Cheddar Cheese.

The key to the quality and taste of Harman’s Cheese is no accident. Each spring, the richest milk is used to make our cheese and then it is aged at least two years to duplicate the perfection of that “forgotten” cheese that launched the business.

Maxine Aldrich

The Harmans enjoyed running their business. They added other unique and unusually good items alongside their distinctive cheddar. Each product met the Harman tradition of old-time quality and good taste at a reasonable cost. The Harmans were also committed to excellent customer service, and enjoying spending time with customers in person and on the phone. Customer satisfaction was always the number one priority.  If there was ever an issue, a replacement or refund was immediately provided.

I started working with the Harmans in 1974 and took as much pride in the business as did John and Kate. The Harmans lived a long, fruitful life in Sugar Hill and passed away in 1980. My husband Bert and I purchased the store in April 1981 and since then, our family continues to follow the Harman Tradition. In 2010, Bert passed away and a few years ago I retired.  Today my daughter Brenda manages the store with the help of our loyal employees and my son, Cliff.

It’s been over 70 years and Harman’s Cheese is still offering superior quality Cheddar along with personalized customer service.