MONROE - Brats, beer, cotton candy, milk and cheese curds are just a few of the locally made foods highlighted at the Green County Fair.
Selling food and drinks at the fair has been a long-standing tradition for many local non-profit organizations. For some, the fair is their biggest fundraising event; for others, it is their only one.
George "Jud" Kindschi, Monroe, remembers the Kiwanis brats stand as a kid after WW II. Later, during the Vietnam era, he came home from the service to find the Kiwanis Club cooking brats on a grill made of field stone by the main entrance of the grandstand.
Kindschi started volunteering in the Kiwanis stand in 1976. He was back again on Friday, flipping rib-eye steaks over a barbecue grill.
The Kiwanis Club ordered 900 pounds of rib-eye steaks from the Green County Locker, "cut fresh daily" for the fair, according to club member Reid Stangel. They also ordered 350 pounds of brats, 120 pounds of hot dogs, and 80 pounds of meat for their "Walking Tacos," and 2,400 bottles of soda pop.
Everything is bought locally, including the Pepsi and paper products, Stangel said.
The fair stand brought in $19,000 in gross sales last year. This Thursday, they did $5,200 worth of business.
Profits goes to area youth, except for the small bit that goes to the Kiwanis International.
Like volunteers at other non-profit organizations, Kindschi and Stangel donate their time and skills.
The Knights of Columbus use about 28 people in its popcorn stand and another 50 selling beer, pop and popcorn in the grandstands.
"We're the only place the sells cotton candy on a stick yet," Tom Deprez said Friday. And it's made fresh on site.
The Knights of Columbus stand started with home-made caramel corn in 1965. Bob Silvis built the concession wagon in his metal shop, and made the caramel corn.
"He popped the corn at one end and had an LP tank with a burner for the (caramel) kettle," Deprez said.
About 10 years later, caramel corn gave way to "pre-mixed pop." But "the ice melted and the paper cups got soft," Deprez said. The stand now sells bottled pop, cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn.
The Knights of Columbus in Monroe use its proceeds to support camps for the handicapped and for scholarships.
"One person told me, 'I only buy at your stand," Deprez said. "I wish there were more of them."
A big favorite at the fair is the Morning Optimists' freshly-made cheese curds.
In 1970, members Arnie Koehn, Wallie Radke, Henry Steiner and Dave Wake saw the operation at a convention in Chippawa Falls and brought the idea back to Monroe.
"This was grass the day before yesterday," said Jon Rufenacht, unwrapping a 40-pound block of cheddar cheese from Maple Leaf Cheese Friday morning. The Optimists will use 80 blocks during the fair.
Curds must be less than 48 hours old to make fried cheese curds. Older cheese will slip out of its batter coating during the frying process, he added.
A volunteer since 1973, Rufenacht cut the block into 2,080 pieces - enough for about 200 orders - using two cheese cutters being scraped about 15-20 years ago.
Naked little yellow rectangles tumbled down a chute, and Jeremy Cairy piled them into a stainless steel bin, poured beer batter over them and tossed them thoroughly by hand. He then picked up each curd with a tong and dropped it into hot oil.
The process is labor intensive, Rufenacht said. Figuring the volunteers' man-hours, he said they couldn't make enough to pay minimum wage.
So, about 190 Optimist members work, cooking, serving and cleaning up, at the stand every year. They have 90 percent membership participation.
They served 1,000 pounds of cheese in 1971 when they started. This year, more than 3,000 pounds of curds, covered in about 30 pounds of batter, all purchased locally, will be served. They served 400 pounds Wednesday and 600 pounds Thursday.
The Optimists find ways to improve service and the cheese curds every year, since they began, said shift leader Don Sorn, and profits support community youth.
The Lions Club, at the fair for 15 to 20 years, sold 300 pork sandwiches Thursday.
Matt Krebs, Monroe, was ordering two, for him and his wife, at 11 a.m. Friday.
The Lions have the best pork sandwiches, he said, admitting he had one Thursday night and would probably have two more before the fair was over. He eats them without condiments.
"I love pork sandwiches," he said. "I would have had one at 9 a.m., but they weren't open."
The American Legion is selling "fresh and hot" pizzas supplied by Vince's Restaurant and Pizzeria in Monroe, along with local beers, wine, coolers, pop, water, snacks, and "all the sarcasm you desire," laughed Lori Glastetter, now volunteering for her third year.
The beer garden, run by 50 volunteers, is the Legion's only fundraiser, and proceeds help veterans.
The Monticello Music Parents are famous for serving up fresh home-made pies each year. The group sells more than 200 slices of pie a day, as well as hot and cold sandwiches and baked potatoes.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars have been serving lunches at the fair for about 50 years, and is the only organization serving breakfasts, from 7 to 10:50 a.m.
Sheryl Tschudy remembers coming there as a child 30 years ago. "You had to work if you wanted to eat at the fair," she said her parents told her.
The VFW gets its meats from Green County Locker, milk form the New Glarus Dairy, cheese from local producers, and barbecue sauce from local grocers. The fair is its biggest fundraiser, with proceeds going to veteran programs and youth scholarships.
The 4-H Junior Leaders Dairy Bar serves a wide variety of foods, from sandwiches to ice cream sundaes. It will serve about 1,600 cartons of milk.
The food and everything needed to serve it is donated by more than a dozen local businesses.
"Monroe is really good about helping the 4-H," said Teena Fey, Browntown, working on Friday with Todd Long. This their fourth year volunteering.
Since the 1970s, Junior Leaders and their parents have run the operation. The $4,000 proceeds are used for trips and other activities.
Judy Gill, president of the Green County Ag Chest, said the cream puff stand has been at the fair for at least 30 years, and all the foods and paper products are purchased locally.
"Sales have been good," she said, "and we had record sales Wednesday and Thursday."
Gill and Bonnie Gerner, New Glarus, the No. 1 cream puff baker since 1995, attributed the good sales to wristband nights for kids and the cooler weather this year.
About 60 Ag Chest volunteers will sell about 1,700 cream puffs and more than 5,400 ice cream sundaes during the five days. They give away a free milk with every sandwich to promote the dairy industry. Proceeds go to help the youth of Green County, 4-H members and FFA members.
Selling food and drinks at the fair has been a long-standing tradition for many local non-profit organizations. For some, the fair is their biggest fundraising event; for others, it is their only one.
George "Jud" Kindschi, Monroe, remembers the Kiwanis brats stand as a kid after WW II. Later, during the Vietnam era, he came home from the service to find the Kiwanis Club cooking brats on a grill made of field stone by the main entrance of the grandstand.
Kindschi started volunteering in the Kiwanis stand in 1976. He was back again on Friday, flipping rib-eye steaks over a barbecue grill.
The Kiwanis Club ordered 900 pounds of rib-eye steaks from the Green County Locker, "cut fresh daily" for the fair, according to club member Reid Stangel. They also ordered 350 pounds of brats, 120 pounds of hot dogs, and 80 pounds of meat for their "Walking Tacos," and 2,400 bottles of soda pop.
Everything is bought locally, including the Pepsi and paper products, Stangel said.
The fair stand brought in $19,000 in gross sales last year. This Thursday, they did $5,200 worth of business.
Profits goes to area youth, except for the small bit that goes to the Kiwanis International.
Like volunteers at other non-profit organizations, Kindschi and Stangel donate their time and skills.
The Knights of Columbus use about 28 people in its popcorn stand and another 50 selling beer, pop and popcorn in the grandstands.
"We're the only place the sells cotton candy on a stick yet," Tom Deprez said Friday. And it's made fresh on site.
The Knights of Columbus stand started with home-made caramel corn in 1965. Bob Silvis built the concession wagon in his metal shop, and made the caramel corn.
"He popped the corn at one end and had an LP tank with a burner for the (caramel) kettle," Deprez said.
About 10 years later, caramel corn gave way to "pre-mixed pop." But "the ice melted and the paper cups got soft," Deprez said. The stand now sells bottled pop, cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn.
The Knights of Columbus in Monroe use its proceeds to support camps for the handicapped and for scholarships.
"One person told me, 'I only buy at your stand," Deprez said. "I wish there were more of them."
A big favorite at the fair is the Morning Optimists' freshly-made cheese curds.
In 1970, members Arnie Koehn, Wallie Radke, Henry Steiner and Dave Wake saw the operation at a convention in Chippawa Falls and brought the idea back to Monroe.
"This was grass the day before yesterday," said Jon Rufenacht, unwrapping a 40-pound block of cheddar cheese from Maple Leaf Cheese Friday morning. The Optimists will use 80 blocks during the fair.
Curds must be less than 48 hours old to make fried cheese curds. Older cheese will slip out of its batter coating during the frying process, he added.
A volunteer since 1973, Rufenacht cut the block into 2,080 pieces - enough for about 200 orders - using two cheese cutters being scraped about 15-20 years ago.
Naked little yellow rectangles tumbled down a chute, and Jeremy Cairy piled them into a stainless steel bin, poured beer batter over them and tossed them thoroughly by hand. He then picked up each curd with a tong and dropped it into hot oil.
The process is labor intensive, Rufenacht said. Figuring the volunteers' man-hours, he said they couldn't make enough to pay minimum wage.
So, about 190 Optimist members work, cooking, serving and cleaning up, at the stand every year. They have 90 percent membership participation.
They served 1,000 pounds of cheese in 1971 when they started. This year, more than 3,000 pounds of curds, covered in about 30 pounds of batter, all purchased locally, will be served. They served 400 pounds Wednesday and 600 pounds Thursday.
The Optimists find ways to improve service and the cheese curds every year, since they began, said shift leader Don Sorn, and profits support community youth.
The Lions Club, at the fair for 15 to 20 years, sold 300 pork sandwiches Thursday.
Matt Krebs, Monroe, was ordering two, for him and his wife, at 11 a.m. Friday.
The Lions have the best pork sandwiches, he said, admitting he had one Thursday night and would probably have two more before the fair was over. He eats them without condiments.
"I love pork sandwiches," he said. "I would have had one at 9 a.m., but they weren't open."
The American Legion is selling "fresh and hot" pizzas supplied by Vince's Restaurant and Pizzeria in Monroe, along with local beers, wine, coolers, pop, water, snacks, and "all the sarcasm you desire," laughed Lori Glastetter, now volunteering for her third year.
The beer garden, run by 50 volunteers, is the Legion's only fundraiser, and proceeds help veterans.
The Monticello Music Parents are famous for serving up fresh home-made pies each year. The group sells more than 200 slices of pie a day, as well as hot and cold sandwiches and baked potatoes.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars have been serving lunches at the fair for about 50 years, and is the only organization serving breakfasts, from 7 to 10:50 a.m.
Sheryl Tschudy remembers coming there as a child 30 years ago. "You had to work if you wanted to eat at the fair," she said her parents told her.
The VFW gets its meats from Green County Locker, milk form the New Glarus Dairy, cheese from local producers, and barbecue sauce from local grocers. The fair is its biggest fundraiser, with proceeds going to veteran programs and youth scholarships.
The 4-H Junior Leaders Dairy Bar serves a wide variety of foods, from sandwiches to ice cream sundaes. It will serve about 1,600 cartons of milk.
The food and everything needed to serve it is donated by more than a dozen local businesses.
"Monroe is really good about helping the 4-H," said Teena Fey, Browntown, working on Friday with Todd Long. This their fourth year volunteering.
Since the 1970s, Junior Leaders and their parents have run the operation. The $4,000 proceeds are used for trips and other activities.
Judy Gill, president of the Green County Ag Chest, said the cream puff stand has been at the fair for at least 30 years, and all the foods and paper products are purchased locally.
"Sales have been good," she said, "and we had record sales Wednesday and Thursday."
Gill and Bonnie Gerner, New Glarus, the No. 1 cream puff baker since 1995, attributed the good sales to wristband nights for kids and the cooler weather this year.
About 60 Ag Chest volunteers will sell about 1,700 cream puffs and more than 5,400 ice cream sundaes during the five days. They give away a free milk with every sandwich to promote the dairy industry. Proceeds go to help the youth of Green County, 4-H members and FFA members.