MONROE - Steve Streiff has only lived in New Glarus and Monroe and that suits him just fine. After all, he's of pure Swiss descent and he lives out his heritage like few others.

"Oh, I'm here to stay," said the 71-year-old retiree, whose involvement as a Swiss-flag-thrower at various events keeps him so busy he dare not dream of moving away. "Sometimes, it's almost too much."

Streiff knows the area well, and that goes beyond its rich Swiss history. As a former surveyor who in 1972 was part of a massive eight-year county-wide re-measuring project, he has literally trudged through all of Green County.

Ever the storyteller, he has not only talked the talk, he has walked the walk.

"There was a lot of new development going on and a lot of disputes regarding property lines," Streiff said. "We had to go through old records from back when the county was initially established and then go out looking for markers which were often just old monuments. Back then, it could be nothing more than a cedar post with stones around it.

"We did it day in and day out, with only two or three in a crew."

The coverage area was massive when you consider the county has 16 townships, each consisting of 36 sections of a square mile in size. Every one of them had to be surveyed.

"Some markers were buried 15 feet deep by the construction of a road and much of this took place in winter, so sometimes we'd be up to our waist in snow, trying to dig to the base of a fence post. We even used snowshoes and cross-country skis," he said. "It reminded me a lot of combat training for Vietnam, but without the shooting. Then again, some farmers did threaten to shoot us.

"It was a thankless job."

He'd parlay the experience into a job in 1980 as assistant engineering supervisor for the city of Monroe, joining a six-person carpool for his workday trips from hometown New Glarus.

When he was offered the assistant street supervisor job two years later, a move to Monroe was required.

And so were early mornings.

"My boss (Nate Klassy) told me part of the job was breakfast at 4:30 every day at the Corner Café and I took him to heart on that," Streiff said. "I was there every morning."

Streiff is proud of many projects he helped see to fruition, including establishing a recycling program that pulled newspapers, cans and scrap metal out of people's trash - not so much for a better environment in those days but as a means to collect deposit money to help fund the department or to help others.

"The Boy Scouts would use the newspapers as part of a fundraising drive and we'd also donate newspaper to the farmers as cattle bedding. But that stopped because when it got wet, cows were walking around with news print on their sides," Streiff said.

Streiff retired in 2006, and while he enjoys a life of normal sleeping hours and arrangements - he used to sleep on the street department floor when a snow storm was approaching and he'd have to call out crews at 2 a.m. - he hasn't completely gotten the life of a watchdog out of his system.

"During the day, I'll still get a little anxious about the weather," he said.

Keeping busy with all things Swiss helps keep him worry-free and active, but a scare with prostate cancer a few years ago put that all at risk. His wife, Sharon, who is a nurse, helped him through it and thankfully, after 33 radiation treatments in Freeport with Sharon at his side for all of them, the cancer is in remission.

"On my way home, after the final one, I got a speeding ticket from an Illinois trooper as I crossed into Wisconsin," Streiff said. "I told him I was a little excited about what I had just completed, but he didn't care."

Streiff served in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968 in a transportation role. Half a world away, he was always thinking about his love of the Swiss culture.

"I remember asking my platoon commander if I could go back home to New Glarus for Labor Day for the Wilhelm Tell Festival," Streiff said. "I had never missed one in my lifetime. He heard me out, but that was denied."

During the war, Streiff was often hauling Agent Orange and napalm. Occasionally, he was exposed to leaks of the toxic materials.

"There would be a puddle of napalm on the floor of the truck - it was like airplane glue," he said. "It was nasty stuff."

And it led to his cancer.

"The VA (Veterans Administration) did an investigation and acknowledged it was the cause," Streiff said. "A crewmate of mine living in Stoughton had the same thing happen to him at the same time, so it was hard to deny."

Back in good health, Streiff is as active as ever, participating in one of four Swiss-flag-throwing groups in the county. The tradition started when Swiss soldiers escorted troops of other European countries during battle.

His group performs at the August Folk Fest and September Wilhelm Tell Festival in New Glarus, the Swiss Festival in November at Turner Hall, and at every Cheese Days. Often, it partners with the Monroe Swiss Singers and the county's six alphorn players - those of the long, booming wooden instruments that extend from the mouth to the ground.

"I have a great time with it," Streiff said. "It's a big part of who I am."

So are trips back to Switzerland, of which he has done twice with the New Glarus Yodel Club.

In September, he'll return with a group from Turner Hall.

"I'm going to visit some cousins," Streiff said. "I know they're out there."