MONROE - Armin Rufener may be as old as Cheese Days - 98, to be exact - but he's not too old to blush.
When asked if he ever brought a date to Cheese Days back in high school, he smiled, shook his head and said, "I was kind of shy."
His daughters say he's been to every Cheese Days since it started here in the fall of 1914, when he was about 9 months old.
"We're just kind of a Cheese Days family," said Darleen Walraven. She was Cheese Days Queen in 1970. Her sister JoAnn Huber was co-Queen in 1976 (with Connie Driver) and their parents were King and Queen in 1986.
Armin is robust for 98, dressed smartly in a traditional Swiss jacket and cap. He's also maybe a bit stubborn. His daughter Donna Bisegger fretted that he "should've come in a wheelchair but he wanted to walk."
Armin and his wife of 71 years, Kathryn, were taking in the scene Friday afternoon for the Green County Cheese Days 2012 kickoff ceremony, people-watching and striking up conversations with the people milling around by the main stage.
"Can you talk Swiss?" Armin asked Eli Wirtz, who's been coming with his wife Marilyn from Des Moines to the past five or so Cheese Days to celebrate his Swiss heritage.
"Nein," the man joked. They swapped stories about their travels in Switzerland.
Armin talked about how wowed he was by a tunnel that burrowed straight underneath the Alps: "They got a superhighway right through the mountain."
Kathryn, observing from nearby, commented, "That's what Cheese Days is all about - the meeting of people. You make friendships."
Armin's parents emigrated from Switzerland shortly before he was born. He's the oldest of 10 kids. Longevity must run in the family, because nine of the ten are still alive.
He was raised speaking Swiss German at home.
"When I first went to school, I couldn't talk English," he said. The teacher was bilingual and helped little Armin and other children from immigrant families learn English. Now he can't remember any of his German. "Since I went to school, I lost all of it."
His and his wife, who is also of Swiss descent, ran a dairy farm just north of Monroe until they retired. They live on the farm to this day.
Kathryn says Cheese Days has gotten bigger and better at promoting itself over the years. The event has changed with the times, she added, but it's always had good community support.
Armin isn't convinced he's been to every Cheese Days - but he also can't remember exactly.
"I went to a lot of them," he said. "It's been so long ago."
The one thing he's sure of is his favorite cheese and how to eat it.
Swiss, in a grilled sandwich.
When asked if he ever brought a date to Cheese Days back in high school, he smiled, shook his head and said, "I was kind of shy."
His daughters say he's been to every Cheese Days since it started here in the fall of 1914, when he was about 9 months old.
"We're just kind of a Cheese Days family," said Darleen Walraven. She was Cheese Days Queen in 1970. Her sister JoAnn Huber was co-Queen in 1976 (with Connie Driver) and their parents were King and Queen in 1986.
Armin is robust for 98, dressed smartly in a traditional Swiss jacket and cap. He's also maybe a bit stubborn. His daughter Donna Bisegger fretted that he "should've come in a wheelchair but he wanted to walk."
Armin and his wife of 71 years, Kathryn, were taking in the scene Friday afternoon for the Green County Cheese Days 2012 kickoff ceremony, people-watching and striking up conversations with the people milling around by the main stage.
"Can you talk Swiss?" Armin asked Eli Wirtz, who's been coming with his wife Marilyn from Des Moines to the past five or so Cheese Days to celebrate his Swiss heritage.
"Nein," the man joked. They swapped stories about their travels in Switzerland.
Armin talked about how wowed he was by a tunnel that burrowed straight underneath the Alps: "They got a superhighway right through the mountain."
Kathryn, observing from nearby, commented, "That's what Cheese Days is all about - the meeting of people. You make friendships."
Armin's parents emigrated from Switzerland shortly before he was born. He's the oldest of 10 kids. Longevity must run in the family, because nine of the ten are still alive.
He was raised speaking Swiss German at home.
"When I first went to school, I couldn't talk English," he said. The teacher was bilingual and helped little Armin and other children from immigrant families learn English. Now he can't remember any of his German. "Since I went to school, I lost all of it."
His and his wife, who is also of Swiss descent, ran a dairy farm just north of Monroe until they retired. They live on the farm to this day.
Kathryn says Cheese Days has gotten bigger and better at promoting itself over the years. The event has changed with the times, she added, but it's always had good community support.
Armin isn't convinced he's been to every Cheese Days - but he also can't remember exactly.
"I went to a lot of them," he said. "It's been so long ago."
The one thing he's sure of is his favorite cheese and how to eat it.
Swiss, in a grilled sandwich.