One can hardly live in Green County during an even-numbered year and not hear an extreme amount about Cheese Days for several months leading up to the middle of September. You may remember that the 100th anniversary of Cheese Days was celebrated ten years ago, but that didn’t mean that there had been 100 celebrations. The first Cheese Day was held on Wednesday, October 28, 1914 after five Monroe men had attended the sauerkraut festival in Forreston, Illinois on October 1 and decided that Monroe could do the same thing to celebrate cheese.

Cheese Day was held annually for four years with the next three being held on the second Tuesday in October. The first Cheese Day button was  issued for the the 1915 celebration. Free sandwiches were given to attendees to promote the industry. 

It was announced on June 28, 1918 that the annual event would not be held that year after about 50 people had attended a meeting in the courthouse the previous evening. It was a nearly unanimous decision “on account of the war and the accompanying circumstances.” It was then voted that the Red Cross would plan a patriotic day as a substitute.

It was decided on the evening of March 7, 1923 that there would be a Cheese Day again that year on Tuesday, October 2. One of the promoters stated, “This is going to be the biggest day the county ever had.” The Monroe Evening Times said that “there was no one who was not happy” the day after the event. The next celebration wasn’t held again until 1928 and was coincidentally held again on Tuesday October 2. For some reason they did not have a button that year, but did estimate that there were about 25,000 people in attendance.

In years prior to 1923, cheese sandwiches had been given away, which resulted in many of them being found on the street. They considered selling the sandwiches in 1923 to avoid the waste. It is unknown what they decided.

The next Cheese Day was held on Wednesday, October 2, 1935 with about 50,000 in attendance. Again, there was no button that year and it would be the only Cheese Day celebration in the 1930s. The budget for this celebration, established in August, was $6,575. Alta Rouse, county superintendent of schools recommended that the rural schools not be in attendance that day. Monroe and Brodhead city schools had also decided to close for the afternoon.

In 1940 they decided to experiment and hold the event on a Saturday in mid-September, the fourteenth. The United States had instituted the 40-hour work week that year, which might have influenced the committee to have it on a Saturday. The committee must have been happy with the results since Saturday has been included in every Cheese Day celebration since then. Boy Scout Troop 114 sold green felt hats with a red feather in it as a fundraiser that year; several of those are still around. 

After a 10-year hiatus, probably because of World War II, Cheese Day was resumed again on September 9, 1950. This was the first Cheese Day to have a king and queen; that didn’t happen again until 1980 after which there has been a king and queen selected every year. 

The next Cheese Day was in 1955. That was the year they started with the “Swiss atmosphere.” Cameramen from newspapers, magazines, and television turned their lenses on the scene on June 18 at the Town Hall cheese factory 10 miles north of Monroe. An article in the May 14 Monroe Evening Times said, “The more old-country color that can be assembled for the event, the greater the likelihood of attracting periodicals of national circulation.” It worked as Cheese Days still has the Swiss theme.

An advertisement in 1955 said that it happens every five years, which may have been their intention for the future. But that was the last time that there was five years between celebrations; Cheese Days didn’t happen again for another ten years, the second time that it has been that long between events. There was no button again in 1965. That year the event became a 2-day event on the third Saturday of September; it would continue to be that way nine more times. 

Cheese Days was held again in 1967, being only two years after the previous one. But again the next one was held in 1970 after a 3-year break. Fortunately, at that time the decision was made to hold Cheese Days in the even numbered years, always on the third weekend of September. The only even-numbered year since then that didn’t have a Cheese Days celebration was 2020 because of the pandemic, but Cheese Days buttons had already been ordered before that decision was made. 

There have also been some other changes made in the last 50 years. The Monroe Optimists started selling cheese curds at the 1974 Cheese Days event. This has been a great fundraiser for the organization that requires many workers, no matter what the weather. A decision was made in 2008 to allow people with open alcoholic beverages to wander the square and further. The community concert on the square, sponsored by Colony Brands, Inc., was added on the Thursday evening in 2018 to reward the community for getting everything ready for the weekend. At that concert the Optimists sell cheese curds and cheese curd tickets to those in attendance so they don’t have to wait in that line during the weekend. 

If Cheese Day(s) had continued as an annual event since 1914, this year would be the 111th one held. However, because of wars, the Great Depression, and other interrupters, this is only the 40th time Cheese Day(s) has been held. One has to wonder if it would have ever become a 3-day event if they had continued doing it annually. 

I hope you will enjoy another successful event this weekend. Thanks to the hundreds of people who work or volunteer to make this a memorable event. 

— Matt Figi is a Monroe resident and a local historian. His column will appear periodically on Saturdays in the Times. He can be reached at mfigi48@tds.net or at 608-325-6503.