When we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Cheese Days back in 2014, some people assumed it was the 100th festival. They didn’t realize that there had been gaps of five, seven, and even 10 years. If you count ‘em up, you’ll discover that 40 festivals have been held — 40 well-documented festivals.

Cheese Days has an extensive archive, thanks to the local newspaper and their diligent reporting. When staffers at Monroe Evening Times were cleaning things out, old newspapers and photo files were donated to the Green County Historical Society. 

The story of how those materials turned into an actual goes something like this. Around 1993, some locals (with core members being Dennis Dalton, Al and Anita Fleming, Sue Disch, Sharon Riese, and Donna Bahler) formed an organization called Historic Monroe. Their goal was to move and restore the old depot building, which eventually became home to the Historic Cheesemaking Center. Katheryn Etter got involved, and it seems that she took on the initiative to sort the newspapers in search of obituaries and key topics — like Cheese Days.

I stopped in at Katheryn’s house one day to find her at the table in her large dining room — meticulously clipping, date stamping, and sorting by festival year. She was surrounded by boxes of yellowing newspapers. When Katheryn passed away in 2011, Sherry Anderegg took over and continues today as historian for the festival.

Cheese Days has amassed thousands of other photos as well. Early images were captured on glass negatives. Later were Kodachrome slides, with many collected by Dennis Dalton, a photographer who was known to frequent auctions in search of anything related to the festival. In more recent years, other photographers have contributed digital files — Bill Wyss, Larry Phillips, Gary Knowles and Brenda Steurer to name a few.

The Cheese Days archive also includes some of the collector steins and some buttons, ephemera and random bits and pieces that tell the story of the festival and those involved. There’s a milking shirt that belonged to first Cheese Days King Werner Bernet. There’s a cheese sample box like the ones that a teenage Bert Digman handed out to festival goers 78 years prior to her being honored as parade marshal in 2018. There are feathered souvenir hats, Swiss-style beanies and felt pennants.

Prior to the 100th anniversary, the Cheese Days board drafted a big list of ideas to enhance the celebration. I dug into the archives and we published a book “Cheese Days: A Pictorial History of the First Hundred Years.” Dennis Dalton gathered vintage images, memorabilia and collectibles for a display at Monroe Arts Center. Perhaps most memorable was assembling more than 100 accordion players at noon on Saturday to join the Monroe City Band in playing the Cheese Days Song.

When Shirley Ruf stopped in to give me part of the Cheese Days special edition from the 1916 newspaper, I was again reminded of the best idea on the anniversary list. I think of it each time someone brings in a postcard for me to scan, or donates some extra buttons they came across when cleaning out the attic. We ran out of time for the best idea — to establish a permanent venue to display photos, artifacts and memorabilia.

It’s time to establish the Cheese Days Hall of Fame. Use of the word “hall” might throw you off. If you’re thinking of some grand hall, that’s not it. We’re talking more of a hallway. Specifically, the basement hallway at the Historic Green County Courthouse. Cheese Days rents a small space in the basement for the office and retail store. The walls are blank. There’s plenty of space for display cases, wall graphics, stories and photos.

So rather than sell on eBay or let things gather dust in the closet, please donate your items for this project. Help us build the Cheese Days Hall of Fame, so treasures — and treasured Cheese Days memories — can be on permanent display for all to enjoy. 

— Noreen Rueckert is director for Green County Tourism and Green County Cheese Days, and helps out with Main Street Monroe’s Concerts on the Square. Her favorite cheese is rumored to be Feta. She has the best office in the county — overlooking Monroe’s Square from the tower of the Historic Green County Courthouse. She dabbles in photography and graphic design, adores cats and iced coffee, and secretly loves the Cheese Days Song.