It's June again, my favorite month, warm weather, lots of daylight and soft warm nights. As kids a half-century ago, we always looked forward to getting out of school. But then it was exchanging bookwork for farm work. Every month on those dairy and hog farms was busy, but June was the busiest.

A half century ago, June was a race between cultivating corn and making hay. Cultivating corn the first time through was the most arduous. The shields had to be just high enough to allow some dirt underneath between the hills of corn, but low enough that the dirt wouldn't cover the corn that was just barely up. And you had to drive so slowly and carefully - the least deviation from the row would take out several hills of corn. It was the most monotonous of all the tractor jobs.

After the corn was cultivated, the mounted cultivators would be removed from the tractors and it was a constant struggle to get hay made between rainstorms. And somehow during June, we had to get the corn cultivated about two more times. The second time through was easier, and the third cultivation was easiest. Since the corn was taller now, the shields could come off and you could roar through it, throwing dirt between the hills of corn to cover the weeds.

Farming is different now with haymaking starting in May. And with high plant populations, narrow rows, and use of herbicides, mechanical cultivation is a thing of the past.

Another nice feature of June is beginning the season of our local culture - cheese, beer, and great music. The Roger Bright Memorial Polkafest, June 8-10, features some of the best musical talent around, and you don't have to be a polka fan to appreciate these fine entertainers.

The Polkafest is named after Roger Bright, an Argyle native who, like so many kids around here growing up in the 1940s and 50s, studied the accordion under Rudy Burkhalter, the Swiss immigrant who arrived here in 1939. Roger joined America's Polka King, Frankie Yankovic, for a year, returned to New Glarus, and formed his own band. With his talented band members, he entertained and recorded some great music.

Roger died doing what he loved best, entertaining at a polka fest at Boulder, Colo., home of the University of Colorado. Initially, one might not associate the sophisticated upscale Boulder crowd with polkas. I would argue that the fact Roger was there proves that the people of Boulder are intelligent enough to appreciate great music of every genre.

One of the finest accordionists around, David Austin, will entertain on Friday evening with the Roger Bright Memorial Band. That same evening at the New Glarus Hotel another fine accordionist, Keith Zweifel, along with his brother Mike, will entertain. My friend and neighbor, Gary Hendrickson, one of the most accomplished guitar and banjo players around, will accompany the Zweifel Brothers.

On Saturday, it's always a great time at Puempel's Olde Tavern with Grant Kozera from Milwaukee, who plays in the Yankovic style. He usually brings along a memento, a bandstand once used by Yankovic himself in his early days. Karl Gmur, who played bass on many of Roger Bright's recordings, will accompany Grant at the tavern. And maybe you can even get Karl's lovely, talented wife, Kaye, to do some yodeling.

Others featured at the Polkafest include the Ed Hause band, the Music Vendors, the Brewhouse Polka Kings, and Monroe's Greg Anderson, who always draws a crowd.

Another activity that weekend is a Beer, Bacon, and Cheese tasting event sponsored by the New Glarus Brewery.

Prior to heading up to New Glarus on Saturday, June 9, you might want to stop at Monroe's National Historic Cheesemaking Center. At 9 a.m., a load of milk will be delivered to the center and dumped into a copper kettle for - guess what - to be made into a 90-pound wheel of Swiss Cheese, just like it was done a century ago.

It's not clear exactly how cheese was discovered, but it had its origins in Europe and the Middle East. One theory is that it was discovered accidentally when milk was transported in cows' stomachs. The enzyme, rennet, found in cows' stomachs, turned the milk into curds and whey.

A related theory is that when desert tribesmen in the Middle East transported milk in leather pouches on their camels, it separated into a cheese-like product. And, of course, cheese is a way of preserving the nutritional qualities of milk, a source of protein and healthful nutrients during periods when other foods are scarce.

With the arrival of Europeans to southern Wisconsin's land that was more suited for cattle than wheat, cheesemaking followed naturally. This was a natural for the Swiss with their cattle and cheesemaking traditions. Farmers formed coops and hired cheesemakers to convert their milk into cheese. Since factories had to be close enough so farmers could deliver milk by horse and wagon every day, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois became dotted with hundreds of neighborhood factories.

The old Imoberstag cheese factory had been abandoned for years in northern Illinois. It was donated by Arnold Imoberstag, moved to the Cheesemaking Center in 2010, and restored exactly as it was a century ago. Master Cheesemakers, assisted by retired cheesemakers, will exhibit their craft and turn that milk into cheese right before your eyes.

You can even assist by taking your turn at stirring the milk with one of those "Swiss harps." While this is happening, my pal and ace accordionist, Henry Blumer, will entertain, accompanied by another accordionist who shall remain unnamed.

So, on the weekend of June 8-10, there is a lot to celebrate. After all, around here we're all fans of music, cheese and beer, connoisseurs of our local culture.

- John Waelti's column is featured every Friday in the Times. He can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net.