Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TherequisitewateringholeinNewGlarusisaclassic1893tavern,
Puempel's Old Tav-
ern
(608/527-2045,
www.puempels.com
). This is the real thing, with the original back bar,
dark woods, high ceilings, and the real draw—patriotic folk-art murals painted in 1913 by
Andrea Hofer. Run as a hobby by its owner, it's the kind of place where people stop by to
play Swiss dice games.
Information and Services
The exceedingly tiny New Glarus
information kiosk
is open and run by the New Glarus
chamber of commerce (608/527-2095 or 800/527-6838,
www.swisstown.com
)
.
Swiss settlers in these parts took cheesemaking from a home industry to a little gold mine
just before the crack in the state's wheat industry. Fabulous timing: By the 1880s, about 75
areacheesefactorieswereproducingswiss,limburger,gruyere,andotherofthemoreodor-
iferous varieties of cheese.
How serious is cheese in Monroe? Besides “Swiss Cheese Capital of America” every-
where,thebiannualCheeseDaysdrawsinmorethan100,000peopleforequalpartsrevelry,
education, and respect. Monroe has one of the country's only limburger cheese factories,
and the only swiss and gruyere cheese factory still using traditional copper vats is in Mon-
roe. Appropriately, the local high school nickname is the “Cheesemakers”—how's a Mon-
roe Cheesemakers sweatshirt for an ineffably kitschy souvenir?
Beyond this, an official from the National Trust for Historic Preservations once said it
best: “If you put up a fence around Monroe, you could charge admission to get in.”
Be sure to listen to the
Swiss Program,
still heard on local radio station WEKZ 1260
AM, around 1pm Monday-Saturday.
Sights
The nucleus of town is the stately, almost baroque
Green County Courthouse,
with a
quad-faced clock on the Yankee-style square. The architecture of Monroe displays an in-
triguing blend of subtle Swiss, common worker bungalow, and gingerbread Victorian, plus
the odd octagon house or two.
The countryside no longer reeks of cheese, but close. No maker receives more attention
than
Alp and Dell
(657 2nd St., 608/328-3355 or 800/257-3335,
www.alpanddellcheese.com
)
.Carpetedwalkwayswithlargeviewingwindowsoverlookthe
famed copper vats, this being the only remaining cheese factory still using traditional cop-
