Green County 2021 Guide

2021 events Planning is challenging these days; for latest updates please check SwissTown.com.

Unfortunately the Swiss pioneers did not prosper. For 20 years, they attempted to raise wheat. But the soil was soon depleted. Cinch bugs in the 1860s ruined crop after crop – and depression again reached out to touch the colonists. They didn’t give up. Instead, they recalled the skills of their forefathers – and turned to dairying. The settlers bought cows at $12 a head, one for each family, and walked them in from Ohio. Cheesemaking was started immediately by the women. The soil not suited for wheat, was found to be perfect for pasture and hay. Trained cheesemakers from the valley of Emmen, Switzerland, were brought in. Small cheese factories appeared, and the co-operative factory plan was introduced by Nicholas Gerber. Descendants of the Swiss colonists now are found not only in New Glarus, but also throughout Green County. They are Americans and proud of it, but they are proud of their heritage, too. The sound of yodeling still can be heard, Swiss cowbells still ring across the fields and Swiss costumes still provide color at various festive times throughout the year. The New Glarus story may be 110 years old, but it’s a continuing story. And that’s as it should be.

After a delay from 2020, New Glarus is hoping to host their 175th anniversary celebration with events this year at the end of July and beginning of August. In planning stages at time of print: Fireworks, Community Picnic, and Anniversary Parade. Also on the calendar: Polkafest (June 11-12) Beer, Bacon & Cheese (June 12), Blues, Brews & Food Trucks (June 26), Wilhelm Tell Festival (September 3-5), and Oktoberfest (September 23-26). Kicking off the holiday season will be Holiday Open Houses at downtown shops on November 13-14, and Tipsy Turkey Pub Crawl on November 27. The community Tree Lighting will be held at the Chamber Depot on December 4. New this year – an outdoor Christkindli Holiday Market on December 10-12.

From the Monroe Evening Times – 1955 Cheese Days Edition

The first Swiss settlers arrived here according to plan – a plan formulated five months earlier in Canton Glarus, an industrial county in Switzerland that was suffering from a general depression. It’s a story of hardship, determination, and perseverance. It’s the New Glarus story, and it began in 1844, with the formation of the Emigration Society of the Canton of New Glarus. Every family willing to leave Switzerland for America was to receive 20 acres of land. Approximately 200 agreed to make the move, so two scouts, Fridolin Streiff and Judge Nicholas Duerst, were dispatched March 16, 1845 with almost $2600 to buy a tract of land. They were urged to select a spot with climate and soil suitable for the raising of grain. One month after the messengers departed, with no word from them to indicate their whereabouts or the success of their mission, the impatient band of colonists started out. Had they known they faced a three-month journey by rocking ocean vessel, jostling train, creeping canal boat and on weary feet, perhaps the story would have a different ending. Theirs was a rugged experience that started the moment they began the trip. A blinding April snowstorm pelted them in an open boat sailing a canal to Zurich. At Zurich, the women and children transferred to covered wagons for an overland trip to Basle. The men continued by boat. The group traveled down the Rhine on a crowded vessel to New Dieppe, leading a gypsy life while waiting for a ship headed for America. Again taking to trains and canal boats, the hardy band made for St. Louis. Streiff and Durst, whom they expected to meet in St. Louis, failed to show up. So they selected two more scouts, Mathias Duerst and Jacob Grob, and sent them off in search of the missing men, who, of course held their money and their hopes.

Rumors that the original messengers had met death at the hands of Indians didn’t ease the situation, but the rumors soon proved unfounded when the searchers found the scouts laying the foundations for the New Glarus settlement. Claim for the 1200 acres had been filed by Streiff and Duerst on July 17, 1845. The colonists again become impatient. They had heard of the Sugar River site and had started for it. They had reached Galena when Judge Duerst finally located them. He picked 18 of the strongest men to go ahead with axes and building tools – a trip made on foot in three days – and helped the others obtain wagons and teams from lead miners to complete the trip. On August 15, 1845, they reached their goal. But New Glarus was only a name, not a community. Housing was completed by Christmas and communal laws drawn up with the aid of the judge, enabled the two dozen families to live together and decreed the manner in which land was to be divided.

Enjoy aTaste of Switzerland in New Glarus,Wisconsin

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A parade on August 16, 1915 marked the 70th Anniversary of the founding of New Glarus. The passenger is holding a sponsor flag from Citizens Bank - a building which still stands at the corner of 2nd Street and 5th Avenue (across from Tofflers Pub & Grill and Kristi's Bistro Restaurant & Bar).

Inn

Special summer & winter packages 66 comfortable rooms plus newly renovated whirlpool suites and family rooms A short drive from Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison We specialize in group tours — with special rates! Indoor pool, sauna, hot tub and fitness room plus conference / meeting / banquet rooms New extended stay units available Alpine restaurant serving Swiss and American cuisine featuring breakfast daily, Sunday brunch, gourmet evening dining Outdoor patio & dining —home of the Swiss Cookout Shops, attractions, and museums within walking distance , plus the New Glarus Brewery is nearby Bike or hike the Sugar River StateTrail — it’s right outside the back door Swissland 18-hole Mini-Golf Course across the street Where traditional Swiss hospitality and charm welcome you all year round. Chalet Landhaus is built in traditional Swiss style - with a per- fect blend of modern convenience and old-fashioned Swiss decor - to give you a touch of Switzerland close to home.

801 Highway 69, NewGlarus,WI 53574 (608) 527-5234 email: chalet@chaletlandhaus.com www.chaletlandhaus.com

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