Although Jonathon Rupp never served in the military himself due to medical issues, he has always felt drawn to those who have. 

After years of community involvement, along with a family and full-time job, he still manages to help out. He also spends his days dedicated to researching the fallen Green County Civil War soldiers — learning their history and stories, sharing them with whomever may be interested.

“For some reason it always intrigued me,” he said.

Rupp was born in Monroe and grew up in the Monticello area. There were Rupps who farmed for 50 years on the land where he began his life. He still has fond memories of carrying pails of milk around the farm as a youngster. 

Simmons Country School was where Rupp began his days of education. He said he enjoyed attending with such a wide range of ages, and appreciated learning ahead of schedule. He was the oldest child with a younger brother and sister. He recalls his sister being the “angel” in the family and adored compared to he and his brother, who always seemed to find mischief.

“We were always finding something to get into,” he laughed.

When the first polio vaccine made its way to Green County, Rupp recalls being bussed into town to get his. He was even featured in the then Monroe Evening Times as one of the first children to receive one. He still has the newspaper clipping. 

By the time Rupp reached about fifth grade, the family moved from the farm to Arizona. His father landed a job there and it was different for the following five years, but a great learning experience for the boy. The area where they lived was diverse compared to the rural area where he was raised, he said.

They returned to the area and moved to town. Rupp attended Monticello High School. Then, he said, there wasn’t much offered as far as sports. He said he worked part time on a farm for money. He had to be sure he had enough to take out a date on Saturday night. 

The 1966 Monticello High School graduate said he had intentions of attending Madison Area Technical College, but instead married early. 

He worked in Evansville for a time and later he eventually did attend MATC for a year for architectural drafting. He was then hired by Bruni-Miller Construction when he returned and dabbled in carpentry work with them and other businesses for several years. He also worked at the foundry for five years in the pattern repair shop reading dimensions.

In the early 1990s, he said he found the job he loved when he landed at Swiss Colony, now Colony Brands, and worked as a sample coordinator in the non-food catalog development. He celebrated 25 years there in September, and said he still loves the work. 

He’s watched the business grow through the years and said he’s enjoyed the challenges that have come along with technology and additional employees. 

“I’ve learned to adapt, but things still keep changing,” he said.

He also loves to spend time with his five children — three daughters and two sons — who all live in the area, along with his three grandchildren and one great-grandson. 

Maybe it was playing with toy soldiers as a youngster or hearing about his great grandfather Rupp coming to Switzerland with his brother — but something about the past has always intrigued Rupp. He’s spent years investigating his lineage, but what grabbed his interest in recent years has been the Civil War. 

He initially didn’t think he had any family members who served in the Civil War — until he went back one generation further and found them. The search spread into his interest for Civil War veterans across Green County, and he spends his days looking into who they were, where they came from and what happened to them.

“I always have been into history,” he said. “I still have Civil War soldiers I played with in 1955.”

He couldn’t get into the service himself because of a blind spot in his right eye, he said, but he has appreciated those who have fought for him and this country. 

After about five years of research, binders now fill a room in his home that tell the stories of about 1,700 of them. They’re alphabetized and he’s dubbed them “my boys” and laughs when he says “they’re adopted.” He feels so close to some of them that he now takes time to place flags on their headstones during certain times of the year. 

He knows his work isn’t finished yet — he suspects the final number is around 1,800. He spends two to three evenings each week looking online, sometimes at libraries, museums and other places that will lead him to the complete story of each local soldier. 

He never dreamed the project would reach as far as it has, but said he can’t stop now, when he’s so close to the finish line. He noted that several soldiers were with multiple regimens, because after they recovered from injury, they were sent back to battle. This has made the research complicated. 

“I wanted to find out how many there were,” he said. 

He’s also printed Certificates of Service for each of them — at $10 each out of his own pocket. Rupp tells the stories of the soldiers using their names as if he knew them. 

He feels close to the project, and is proud to bring back to life the many soldiers who weren’t recognized, or even brought home, during the 1800s. He has identified local “dummy graves” for the soldiers who weren’t returned for burial.

“Some were just everyday boys and they were buried where they fell,” he said. “They didn’t bring everyone back like they do now.”

One finished, Rupp said he’ll likely return to his family research and spend more time on his other hobbies. 

He also loves to dabble in 1/25th scale model cars. He loves to build them and has since he was a boy on the farm, he said. Many kits come with hundreds of pieces and he doesn’t always follow instructions, and instead building them the way he knows.

“I know cars,” he said. “They never give you the right parts.”

On and off through the years Rupp has enjoyed the pastime and has several trophies and plaques to show for it. He has also enjoyed judging at some shows as well. 

Rupp enjoys actual cars too. He has an orange 1973 Z28 Camaro he purchased used in Green County in 1976. He enjoys rides in the summertime and car shows for fun. He has a 1965 Chevelle Malibu he takes pride and enjoyment in as well. He is an active member of Yester-Year Auto Club in Monroe.

A history buff at heart, Rupp said he’s always reading and will stop at any museum given the opportunity. He has enjoyed travel through the years and manages to involve history in most of his trips. He eventually would like to see more Civil War battlefields, he said.

He still does some carpentry work on the side; he built his own barn and garage. He also enjoys singing in the senior church choir at Zwingli. 

He is still part of the Zwingli United Church of Christ in Monticello, the same church where he grew up, and served as the congregation’s president when they celebrated the 125th anniversary of the founding of the church. He said it was an honor since his great-grandparents were members when the services were in German. He served on the church consistory for nine years and said five generations of Rupps have been part of the church, which makes it special. 

He’s also volunteered during church camps through the years, helping by donating carpentry work for projects there to prepare for summer campers. 

He has also helped with some carpentry work at the historical society building. He is a past board president for the Green County Historical Society and was on the board of directors for several years. He has served as a docent on weekends for museum tours for several years as well. 

Along with that, Rupp still serves on the building and grounds committee, is the chair of the stewardship & member committee and is in the men’s brotherhood group at Zwingli. 

He also serves on the Lincoln Park Water Tower Preservation Committee. 

It’s been his involvement and a simple curiosity that’s kept Rupp happiest through the years, and always wanting to know more. He feels it’s been a special gift. 

“Get involved with as much stuff as you can because it’s a chance to learn,” he said. “You gotta have something to keep you going.”

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— A previous version of the article contained incorrect information provided to the Times regarding the number of children. Rupp has three daughters and two sons.