Remembering the first “cheese day” – Monroe Times

You can hardly live in Green County in an even-numbered year without hearing an extreme amount about Cheese Days for several months before mid-September. You may remember that the 100th anniversary of Cheese Days was celebrated ten years ago, but that didn't mean there had been 100 celebrations. The first Cheese Day was held on Wednesday, October 28, 1914, after five men from Monroe attended the Sauerkraut Festival in Forreston, Illinois on October 1 and decided that Monroe could do the same to celebrate the cheese.

Cheese Day was held annually for four years, the next three on the second Tuesday in October. The first Cheese Day button was given out to celebrate in 1915. To promote the industry, free sandwiches were given to attendees.

On June 28, 1918, it was announced that the annual event would not take place that year after about 50 people attended a meeting at the courthouse the previous evening. It was a nearly unanimous decision “due to the war and the circumstances connected therewith.” A vote was then taken that the Red Cross would plan a patriotic day as a replacement.

On the evening of March 7, 1923, it was decided that Cheese Day would be held again that year on Tuesday, October 2. One of the organizers declared, “It will be the greatest day the area has ever seen.” The Monroe Evening Times wrote the day after the event that “there was no one who was not happy.” The next celebration was not held until 1928, and coincidentally, it was again held on Tuesday, October 2. For some reason, there was no button that year, but it was estimated that about 25,000 people attended.

In the years before 1923, cheese sandwiches were given away, which resulted in many of them being found on the streets. To avoid the waste, in 1923, selling the sandwiches was considered. It is not known what was decided upon.

The next Cheese Day was held on Wednesday, October 2, 1935, with about 50,000 people in attendance. Again, there was no button this year and it was to be the only Cheese Day celebration in the 1930s. The budget for this celebration, set in August, was $6,575. Alta Rouse, county school superintendent, recommended that the rural schools be closed that day. The city schools of Monroe and Brodhead had also decided to close in the afternoon.

In 1940, they decided to experiment and hold the event on a Saturday in mid-September, the 14th. That year, the United States had adopted the 40-hour work week, which may have prompted the committee to schedule the event on a Saturday. The committee must have been pleased with the results, because Saturday has been included in every Cheese Day celebration since then. Boy Scout Troop 114 sold green felt hats with a red feather inside that year to raise funds; some of these are still around today.

After a 10-year break, probably due to World War II, Cheese Day resumed on 9 September 1950. This was the first Cheese Day to have a king and queen; this did not happen again until 1980. Since then, a king and queen have been elected every year.

The next Cheese Day was held in 1955. That year they started with the “Swiss atmosphere.” Cameramen from newspapers, magazines and television trained their lenses on the scene at the Town Hall cheese factory, 10 miles north of Monroe, on June 18. A May 14 article in the Monroe Evening Times stated, “The more country flair you can bring to the event, the more likely it is to attract national circulation magazines.” It worked, because Cheese Days still has the Swiss theme.

A 1955 advertisement stated that the event would be held every five years, which may have been their intention for the future. But that was the last time that five years passed between celebrations; the Cheese Days were not held again until ten years later, the second time that long had passed between events. There was no button again in 1965. That year the event became a two-day event on the third Saturday in September; it would remain that way for nine more times.

The Cheese Days were held again in 1967, just two years after the previous one. But the next one was held in 1970 after a three-year break. Fortunately, it was decided then to hold the Cheese Days in even-numbered years, always on the third weekend of September. The only even-numbered year since then in which no Cheese Days were celebrated was 2020 because of the pandemic, but the Cheese Days buttons had already been ordered before this decision was made.

A few other changes have also been made over the past 50 years. The Monroe Optimists began selling cheese curds at Cheese Days in 1974. This has been a great fundraiser for the organization, which needs a lot of staff no matter the weather. In 2008, it was decided to allow people with open alcoholic beverages to stroll through the square and beyond. The Community Concert on the Square, sponsored by Colony Brands, Inc., was added on Thursday nights in 2018 to reward the community for getting everything ready for the weekend. At this concert, the Optimists sell cheese curds and cheese curd tickets to attendees so they don't have to wait in that line on the weekend.

If Cheese Day had been held as an annual event since 1914, this would be the 111th time. However, due to wars, the Great Depression, and other interruptions, this is only the 40th time Cheese Day has been held. One has to wonder if it would ever have become a three-day event if it had continued to be held annually.

I hope you will enjoy another successful event this weekend. Thank you to the hundreds of people who work or volunteer to make this event a memorable one.

— Matt Figi is a Monroe resident and local historian who writes a regular Saturday column in the Times. Reach him at [email protected] or 608-325-6503.