MONROE - Cheese made Green County what it is today.
Many people have forgotten how important a role cheese played in the history of Green County, putting it on the map.
Doran Zwygart hasn't forgotten and his new book, "Cheese Central, USA," is a reminder for everyone who wants to learn about Green County's most important product.
Zwygart talks of the days when cheese was king of the county. Conversations with him are laced with interesting stories and trivia about Green County cheese factories and why cheese became important.
His knowledge of the subject comes from a lifetime of work in the cheese business. His father opened the Sun Prairie Cheese Company in 1922 and Zwygart worked with his dad for many years. Eventually, after three years in the U.S. Army, Zwygart managed the Armour Cheese Company in Monroe until 1980. Along the way, he served as district manager and regional manager of the company. He also opened a cheese brokerage office after he retired in 1980.
Cheese has been Zwygart's life's work and passion. There are few facts he doesn't know about Green County's cheese history.
"There was a time when more Limburger was made than Swiss cheese," he said.
His book presents the history of the cheese business in chronological order, from the 1800s to the modern era. Included are photos of early cheesemakers, early cheesemaking procedures and even a photo of President Calvin Coolidge holding a slice of Swiss cheese made in southern Wisconsin.
"The foreign-type cheese industry had an enormous effect on Green County and the surrounding area," Zwygart wrote in his book. "Because of cheesemaking, farmers had a profitable outlet for milk and turned increasingly to dairying."
Foreign-type cheeses are Swiss, Brick and Limburger.
According to Zwygart, because of the cheesemaking industry, Green County became the second wealthiest county in the state in the 1920s; had the second largest ownership of vehicles per capita; had the highest income per farm; the highest valued farms in the state; and the most cattle per acre in Wisconsin.
"It made this county," he said.
Cheesemaking also spread to Dane, Iowa and Lafayette counties. At one time there were about 700 cheese factories in the southern Wisconsin region, with Green County home to the majority of them. There are 13 cheese factories in Green County and eight in Lafayette County. Their locations also are included in the book.
Zwygart's book, published in conjunction with Monroe's 150th birthday, isn't meant to be a complete history of cheesemaking, Zwygart said. It's a summary of what he's read and learned over the past 50 years.
Zwygart said the idea for publishing the book came from Jim Glessner, executive director of the Historic Cheesemaking Center, located in the restored Milwaukee Railroad Depot on Monroe's south side.
The center includes artifacts from Monroe's cheesemaking history and allows visitors to tour a replica of an old-time cheese factory.
The book can be purchased at the Historic Cheesemaking Center.
Many people have forgotten how important a role cheese played in the history of Green County, putting it on the map.
Doran Zwygart hasn't forgotten and his new book, "Cheese Central, USA," is a reminder for everyone who wants to learn about Green County's most important product.
Zwygart talks of the days when cheese was king of the county. Conversations with him are laced with interesting stories and trivia about Green County cheese factories and why cheese became important.
His knowledge of the subject comes from a lifetime of work in the cheese business. His father opened the Sun Prairie Cheese Company in 1922 and Zwygart worked with his dad for many years. Eventually, after three years in the U.S. Army, Zwygart managed the Armour Cheese Company in Monroe until 1980. Along the way, he served as district manager and regional manager of the company. He also opened a cheese brokerage office after he retired in 1980.
Cheese has been Zwygart's life's work and passion. There are few facts he doesn't know about Green County's cheese history.
"There was a time when more Limburger was made than Swiss cheese," he said.
His book presents the history of the cheese business in chronological order, from the 1800s to the modern era. Included are photos of early cheesemakers, early cheesemaking procedures and even a photo of President Calvin Coolidge holding a slice of Swiss cheese made in southern Wisconsin.
"The foreign-type cheese industry had an enormous effect on Green County and the surrounding area," Zwygart wrote in his book. "Because of cheesemaking, farmers had a profitable outlet for milk and turned increasingly to dairying."
Foreign-type cheeses are Swiss, Brick and Limburger.
According to Zwygart, because of the cheesemaking industry, Green County became the second wealthiest county in the state in the 1920s; had the second largest ownership of vehicles per capita; had the highest income per farm; the highest valued farms in the state; and the most cattle per acre in Wisconsin.
"It made this county," he said.
Cheesemaking also spread to Dane, Iowa and Lafayette counties. At one time there were about 700 cheese factories in the southern Wisconsin region, with Green County home to the majority of them. There are 13 cheese factories in Green County and eight in Lafayette County. Their locations also are included in the book.
Zwygart's book, published in conjunction with Monroe's 150th birthday, isn't meant to be a complete history of cheesemaking, Zwygart said. It's a summary of what he's read and learned over the past 50 years.
Zwygart said the idea for publishing the book came from Jim Glessner, executive director of the Historic Cheesemaking Center, located in the restored Milwaukee Railroad Depot on Monroe's south side.
The center includes artifacts from Monroe's cheesemaking history and allows visitors to tour a replica of an old-time cheese factory.
The book can be purchased at the Historic Cheesemaking Center.