Europe, early 1940s - bombs, bullets, factories and homes destroyed, death and destruction all around. That is, except for land-locked little Switzerland that managed to maintain its neutrality, escaping the destruction rained upon the rest of Europe.
Nazi Germany's Fuehrer had drawn up plans to invade Switzerland. The Swiss Army had planned a strategy of withdrawal from the borders to well-stocked positions high in the Alps. A general from French-speaking Switzerland, Henri Guisan, was put in charge of the Swiss Army, helping to ease fears that Switzerland would throw in with Germany.
The anticipated invasion never materialized. Hitler had his hands full with the Soviets to the east and the Americans and Brits in North Africa. Besides, why lose several hundred thousand crack Wehrmacht troops? With his anticipated Axis victory, Switzerland could be starved into submission, German-speaking Switzerland annexed to Germany, Italian-speaking to Italy, and French-speaking to Vichy France.
Escaping destruction, neutral Switzerland became a haven for diplomats, spies and refugees. It often mediated communications between the Axis and Allied powers.
Life for civilians went on. It was customary for teenage girls to find employment with wealthy families, often for families speaking a different language than their own.
A real-life example is of a young Swiss Miss from Leissigen on Lake Thun in Canton Bern who found employment with a wealthy watch-making family in French-speaking Switzerland. The family treated this teenager as one of their own. They often took her to dinner with them at fine restaurants. The family usually ordered "snails" before dinner, and urged their maid to try them. She thought eating snails to be repulsive and declined.
Ultimately, the family urged our Swiss Miss to try just one. She loved it, much to the ultimate financial cost to the family. These "snails" were escargot, a sumptuous, expensive delicacy that she would order for dinner at every opportunity.
Flashing back a few years, a Swiss boy born in Grindelwald, Canton Bern, at age 10, came to Wisconsin with his parents and a sister to Green County in 1927. He worked in a cheese factory north of Monroe, near Monticello. A lad with that famous Swiss work ethic, and a good student to boot, he graduated from Monticello High School and was awarded a scholarship to Ripon College.
But first, he wanted to return to Switzerland - for one year only. With unfortunate timing, at least apparently so at the time, Hitler had just invaded Austria. He got back just in time to be drafted into the Swiss Army, where he served for three years.
Following release from the Army, with his knowledge of English, he secured temporary employment with the railroad - he still planned to return to Wisconsin when he could secure passage on the heavily booked ships.
After the war, our Swiss Miss returned to Leissigen and enrolled in a business course in Interlaken, a 10-minute ride on the train. It was one gorgeous, sunny winter morning, the air clear and crisp. The view was so beautiful from the moving train that our Swiss Miss couldn't resist throwing open the window and just taking it all in.
Our conductor arrives on the scene and severely reprimands the young woman. Doesn't she realize that it costs money to heat the passenger cars? And does she have no concern for the older passengers who don't want that cold air coming in?
With that, our Swiss Miss angrily slams the widow shut, with some angry words at the conductor.
Later in the day, reflecting on the incident, she realizes that the conductor had a point, and she was a bit inconsiderate.
During her next trip, she apologizes to the conductor. So, here is an obviously intelligent, handsome veteran of the Swiss Army, and an intelligent, spirited, pretty Swiss Miss, both unattached. Should it be any surprise that one thing leads to another?
Our Swiss Miss was Martha Zumstein. Our conductor is Werner Bernet. Naturally, they fell in love. There was a catch - Werner advised Martha that he intended to return to Wisconsin when he could secure passage. Martha opined that she was "open to that."
The post-war transportation crunch was on and passage was hard to come by. As Werner was on duty, Martha was with Werner's parents when word came through that transportation was available.
With a twinkle in her eye, Martha then informs Werner, "We have to get married." A shocked Werner is relieved when she informs him that the reason is that transportation is now available. To accompany him, they must be married. So marry they did. And that is how Martha and Werner Bernet came to Wisconsin.
Werner's offer of a scholarship had long since passed. They made cheese at the old Stauffacher factory near Monticello for many years before running Bernet's Cheese and Sausage Shop in back of what is now the Suisse Haus Restaurant.
When Martha was a child, she had learned to yodel and play the accordion. The day she left for America, her father told her to keep singing and everything would turn out all right. She followed that advice and entertained with the Edelweiss Stars, Betty Vetterli and Rudy Burkhalter. On the original recording of the Cheese Days song that will be played many times all week, it is Martha doing the yodeling on the recording with Rudy.
Since the mid-1950s, Martha has hosted the Swiss radio show on WEKZ. She received the Monroe Senior Citizen award in 1971 and was Cheese Days Queen in 1980. She can still be persuaded to render a selection now and then, often with another talented yodeler, Marian Kundert. We refer to them as "The Swiss Chicks."
It was her appreciation of beauty that prompted her to throw open that train window long ago, leading to romance on the Eisenbahn and her eventual arrival to Green County.
For her many contributions to our community and our culture, we are grateful that on that gorgeous winter day she was moved to open that window on the Eisenbahn.
- John Waelti's column appears in the Times every Friday. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
Nazi Germany's Fuehrer had drawn up plans to invade Switzerland. The Swiss Army had planned a strategy of withdrawal from the borders to well-stocked positions high in the Alps. A general from French-speaking Switzerland, Henri Guisan, was put in charge of the Swiss Army, helping to ease fears that Switzerland would throw in with Germany.
The anticipated invasion never materialized. Hitler had his hands full with the Soviets to the east and the Americans and Brits in North Africa. Besides, why lose several hundred thousand crack Wehrmacht troops? With his anticipated Axis victory, Switzerland could be starved into submission, German-speaking Switzerland annexed to Germany, Italian-speaking to Italy, and French-speaking to Vichy France.
Escaping destruction, neutral Switzerland became a haven for diplomats, spies and refugees. It often mediated communications between the Axis and Allied powers.
Life for civilians went on. It was customary for teenage girls to find employment with wealthy families, often for families speaking a different language than their own.
A real-life example is of a young Swiss Miss from Leissigen on Lake Thun in Canton Bern who found employment with a wealthy watch-making family in French-speaking Switzerland. The family treated this teenager as one of their own. They often took her to dinner with them at fine restaurants. The family usually ordered "snails" before dinner, and urged their maid to try them. She thought eating snails to be repulsive and declined.
Ultimately, the family urged our Swiss Miss to try just one. She loved it, much to the ultimate financial cost to the family. These "snails" were escargot, a sumptuous, expensive delicacy that she would order for dinner at every opportunity.
Flashing back a few years, a Swiss boy born in Grindelwald, Canton Bern, at age 10, came to Wisconsin with his parents and a sister to Green County in 1927. He worked in a cheese factory north of Monroe, near Monticello. A lad with that famous Swiss work ethic, and a good student to boot, he graduated from Monticello High School and was awarded a scholarship to Ripon College.
But first, he wanted to return to Switzerland - for one year only. With unfortunate timing, at least apparently so at the time, Hitler had just invaded Austria. He got back just in time to be drafted into the Swiss Army, where he served for three years.
Following release from the Army, with his knowledge of English, he secured temporary employment with the railroad - he still planned to return to Wisconsin when he could secure passage on the heavily booked ships.
After the war, our Swiss Miss returned to Leissigen and enrolled in a business course in Interlaken, a 10-minute ride on the train. It was one gorgeous, sunny winter morning, the air clear and crisp. The view was so beautiful from the moving train that our Swiss Miss couldn't resist throwing open the window and just taking it all in.
Our conductor arrives on the scene and severely reprimands the young woman. Doesn't she realize that it costs money to heat the passenger cars? And does she have no concern for the older passengers who don't want that cold air coming in?
With that, our Swiss Miss angrily slams the widow shut, with some angry words at the conductor.
Later in the day, reflecting on the incident, she realizes that the conductor had a point, and she was a bit inconsiderate.
During her next trip, she apologizes to the conductor. So, here is an obviously intelligent, handsome veteran of the Swiss Army, and an intelligent, spirited, pretty Swiss Miss, both unattached. Should it be any surprise that one thing leads to another?
Our Swiss Miss was Martha Zumstein. Our conductor is Werner Bernet. Naturally, they fell in love. There was a catch - Werner advised Martha that he intended to return to Wisconsin when he could secure passage. Martha opined that she was "open to that."
The post-war transportation crunch was on and passage was hard to come by. As Werner was on duty, Martha was with Werner's parents when word came through that transportation was available.
With a twinkle in her eye, Martha then informs Werner, "We have to get married." A shocked Werner is relieved when she informs him that the reason is that transportation is now available. To accompany him, they must be married. So marry they did. And that is how Martha and Werner Bernet came to Wisconsin.
Werner's offer of a scholarship had long since passed. They made cheese at the old Stauffacher factory near Monticello for many years before running Bernet's Cheese and Sausage Shop in back of what is now the Suisse Haus Restaurant.
When Martha was a child, she had learned to yodel and play the accordion. The day she left for America, her father told her to keep singing and everything would turn out all right. She followed that advice and entertained with the Edelweiss Stars, Betty Vetterli and Rudy Burkhalter. On the original recording of the Cheese Days song that will be played many times all week, it is Martha doing the yodeling on the recording with Rudy.
Since the mid-1950s, Martha has hosted the Swiss radio show on WEKZ. She received the Monroe Senior Citizen award in 1971 and was Cheese Days Queen in 1980. She can still be persuaded to render a selection now and then, often with another talented yodeler, Marian Kundert. We refer to them as "The Swiss Chicks."
It was her appreciation of beauty that prompted her to throw open that train window long ago, leading to romance on the Eisenbahn and her eventual arrival to Green County.
For her many contributions to our community and our culture, we are grateful that on that gorgeous winter day she was moved to open that window on the Eisenbahn.
- John Waelti's column appears in the Times every Friday. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.
