MONROE - Possibly a record-breaking crowd gathered this year for the Green County Ag Chest Breakfast on the Farm, surprising the sponsors, the hosts and the sheriff's department.
The Joe and Laurie Schwarzenberger family hosted the breakfast Saturday on their farm east of Monroe on Wisconsin 11.
Ag Chest President Judy Gill said the average expected crowd is 5,000.
"I'd say it was just like normal - it's steady," she said at 8 a.m., while selling tickets at the entrance.
But the steady flow never eased up.
Even Joe Schwarzenberger jumped on a tractor and helped shuttle people from their cars to the farm.
"I have to thank the Sheriff's Department for traffic control," he said. "It's a mess out there."
Joe was perhaps a bit overwhelmed, not expecting the huge crowd. Traffic on Wisconsin 11 was well-controlled and directed. A parking lot in a field east of the house had to be shifted to a higher hill to the west because of rain Friday. But shuttles kept up with the arrivals and departures.
"There were more buses (this year)," said Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick, who was directing municipal buses and shuttle traffic to the farm. "From my perspective more people rode the buses. Possibly the fuel costs had have something to do with that."
By 10 a.m., Gill expected a record had been set for attendance. The exact number will not be known until advanced tickets are gathered and counted.
Laurie Schwarzenberger said much had to be done to prepare for the event, starting with landscaping and painting.
"Ag Chest has been just great; the committees are absolutely wonderful," Laurie said.
GETTING READY
As the event neared, the family found itself hustling to get ready.
Breakfast on the Farm comes at about the time farmers are planting corn and beans and making hay. Joe figures he might be about 10 days behind in his farm work because of the preparations needed for the breakfast.
The early-morning hours before the big event, Laurie said she was going to bed while Joe was getting up. He went to bed at 1:30 a.m., got up at 3 a.m. and milked 79 cows. Laurie went to bed at 3:30 and got up at 4 a.m.
Their 15 year-old daughter Emily did better - she got five hours sleep. Her job was doing "a little bit of everything."
"It was hard work getting ready for," she said. But on the day of the event, Emily had fun meeting all the people. She'd do it again, she said.
"We couldn't have done it without friends' and neighbors' help," Laurie said.
So, after the clean-up, the Schwarzenbergers planned to have a big party for them.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Evelyn Tschantz was in charge of ordering the food, and worked Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. helping set up the food lines. She was up at 3:30 a.m. and started cooking at 5:45 a.m.
The grocery list is pretty much set to feed 5,000 people (1,800 dozen eggs, 1,300 pounds of sausage, 110 pounds of butter, 480 pounds of cheese, 3,500 cartons of orange juice). But some of it doesn't arrive like it used to.
The eggs come in two-gallon bags, beaten and ready to pour.
That is fine with Julene Elmer, Ag Chest Executive Board member. The years when the eggs were cracked and beaten are probably gone. Elmer said they couldn't keep up with the serving lines in years past. She was helping scramble eggs Saturday.
This is the first year the farm breakfast has had two egg cookers going.
"Pushing eggs" at one monster skillet over propane-heat were Elmer, Dean Houlberg, Abe Runaas and Benjamin Johnson.
Elmer noted her egg-team included a banker, a judge and a propane dealer.
"Once we get them trained, we can't let them go," Elmer said about the cooking staff.
"I thought my job was done when I got done cutting up sausage. Now I'm pushing eggs," Runaas joked, holding a small egg-coated plastic cutting board for a spatula.
"We don't fire anybody here," Houlberg said.
To start another batch of scrambled eggs, Ben Johnson threw in four sticks (one pound) of butter.
"Only butter, no margarine," Elmer said.
Johnson then poured in two bags of eggs, four tosses of pepper and two to three tosses of salt.
And then the team started pushing eggs from the edges to the center with their cutting-board spatulas, and the banter started back up.
"This is the 'funnest' tent to be in," Elmer said.
And it was, but it's also the hottest. Gusts of wind through an open flap behind them were a welcome relief.
The eggs were ready in about 15 minutes.
Sue Rieder was making coffee in 10-gallon milk cans over another flame, four milk cans at a time. By 9 a.m., she and her father Bud Schultz had made 120 gallons.
"He never gets out of this, because I never get out of it," Rieder said. Schultz just smiled.
Michelle Cwian, Orangeville, had put her name on the volunteer list. Her family is part of the Green County 4-H.
"They called this morning and asked if I could bring more coffeecake. I hope they don't run out of food," she said at 9 a.m., noting the line of people still waiting for breakfast extended down the driveway and around the houseyard.
Cwian said she had spoken to people from as far away as Chicago and Joliet, and Boone and Kendall counties in Illinois.
The Joe and Laurie Schwarzenberger family hosted the breakfast Saturday on their farm east of Monroe on Wisconsin 11.
Ag Chest President Judy Gill said the average expected crowd is 5,000.
"I'd say it was just like normal - it's steady," she said at 8 a.m., while selling tickets at the entrance.
But the steady flow never eased up.
Even Joe Schwarzenberger jumped on a tractor and helped shuttle people from their cars to the farm.
"I have to thank the Sheriff's Department for traffic control," he said. "It's a mess out there."
Joe was perhaps a bit overwhelmed, not expecting the huge crowd. Traffic on Wisconsin 11 was well-controlled and directed. A parking lot in a field east of the house had to be shifted to a higher hill to the west because of rain Friday. But shuttles kept up with the arrivals and departures.
"There were more buses (this year)," said Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick, who was directing municipal buses and shuttle traffic to the farm. "From my perspective more people rode the buses. Possibly the fuel costs had have something to do with that."
By 10 a.m., Gill expected a record had been set for attendance. The exact number will not be known until advanced tickets are gathered and counted.
Laurie Schwarzenberger said much had to be done to prepare for the event, starting with landscaping and painting.
"Ag Chest has been just great; the committees are absolutely wonderful," Laurie said.
GETTING READY
As the event neared, the family found itself hustling to get ready.
Breakfast on the Farm comes at about the time farmers are planting corn and beans and making hay. Joe figures he might be about 10 days behind in his farm work because of the preparations needed for the breakfast.
The early-morning hours before the big event, Laurie said she was going to bed while Joe was getting up. He went to bed at 1:30 a.m., got up at 3 a.m. and milked 79 cows. Laurie went to bed at 3:30 and got up at 4 a.m.
Their 15 year-old daughter Emily did better - she got five hours sleep. Her job was doing "a little bit of everything."
"It was hard work getting ready for," she said. But on the day of the event, Emily had fun meeting all the people. She'd do it again, she said.
"We couldn't have done it without friends' and neighbors' help," Laurie said.
So, after the clean-up, the Schwarzenbergers planned to have a big party for them.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Evelyn Tschantz was in charge of ordering the food, and worked Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. helping set up the food lines. She was up at 3:30 a.m. and started cooking at 5:45 a.m.
The grocery list is pretty much set to feed 5,000 people (1,800 dozen eggs, 1,300 pounds of sausage, 110 pounds of butter, 480 pounds of cheese, 3,500 cartons of orange juice). But some of it doesn't arrive like it used to.
The eggs come in two-gallon bags, beaten and ready to pour.
That is fine with Julene Elmer, Ag Chest Executive Board member. The years when the eggs were cracked and beaten are probably gone. Elmer said they couldn't keep up with the serving lines in years past. She was helping scramble eggs Saturday.
This is the first year the farm breakfast has had two egg cookers going.
"Pushing eggs" at one monster skillet over propane-heat were Elmer, Dean Houlberg, Abe Runaas and Benjamin Johnson.
Elmer noted her egg-team included a banker, a judge and a propane dealer.
"Once we get them trained, we can't let them go," Elmer said about the cooking staff.
"I thought my job was done when I got done cutting up sausage. Now I'm pushing eggs," Runaas joked, holding a small egg-coated plastic cutting board for a spatula.
"We don't fire anybody here," Houlberg said.
To start another batch of scrambled eggs, Ben Johnson threw in four sticks (one pound) of butter.
"Only butter, no margarine," Elmer said.
Johnson then poured in two bags of eggs, four tosses of pepper and two to three tosses of salt.
And then the team started pushing eggs from the edges to the center with their cutting-board spatulas, and the banter started back up.
"This is the 'funnest' tent to be in," Elmer said.
And it was, but it's also the hottest. Gusts of wind through an open flap behind them were a welcome relief.
The eggs were ready in about 15 minutes.
Sue Rieder was making coffee in 10-gallon milk cans over another flame, four milk cans at a time. By 9 a.m., she and her father Bud Schultz had made 120 gallons.
"He never gets out of this, because I never get out of it," Rieder said. Schultz just smiled.
Michelle Cwian, Orangeville, had put her name on the volunteer list. Her family is part of the Green County 4-H.
"They called this morning and asked if I could bring more coffeecake. I hope they don't run out of food," she said at 9 a.m., noting the line of people still waiting for breakfast extended down the driveway and around the houseyard.
Cwian said she had spoken to people from as far away as Chicago and Joliet, and Boone and Kendall counties in Illinois.