The Community of Monroe

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The Community of Monroe
Presented by Liz
Carroll Richard Grahn
Donna Bradley
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The Community of Monroe
Lyrics Come to Cheese Days in Monroe.Thats the
place for you to go.Music, dancing, yodeling,
too.And a big parade for you.And we know you
will be pleased.When you taste Green County
Cheese.Come to Cheese Days, come to Cheese
Days,Come to Cheese Days in Monroe!
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The Community of Monroe

• Monroe, Wisconsin was first incorporated 150
  years ago, a fact the city is presently
  celebrating with a year-long community-wide
  sesquicentennial celebration. The Village of
  Monroe was officially incorporated on April 4,
  1858 however, the first settler came to the area
  much earlier in 1835just prior to Wisconsins
  designation as a territory. Monroe was named for
  James Monroe, the nations fifth president.
• Monroe is located in southern Green County. The
  county was designated in 1836 and was named both
  for Revolutionary War hero General Nathanial
  Greene and the areas lush vegetation.
  Originally, the lead mining industry attracted
  early settlers to the area, while Green Countys
  fertile farmland and the Sugar and Pecatonica
  Rivers offered a way of life and a permanent
  home.

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The Community of Monroe

• The history of Monroe is actually a tale of two
  cities, Monroe and New Mexico. The adjacent
  communities engaged in a fierce rivalry,
  competing for designation as the county seat.
  Monroe was, of course, victorious.
• In the 1840s, a second wave of settlers
  descended on the area, and a bustling retail
  center was developed around the towns center
  square. Trade supported the local farming
  community and included lumber, wagon builders,
  mills, hardware and other suppliers to the
  booming agricultural community.

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The Community of Monroe

• People continued to come from the eastern United
  States, Ireland, England, Scotland, Norway,
  Germany, and Switzerland. By the late 1860s
  Monroes population was heavily Swiss, with
  immigrants arriving from the New Glarus area and
  Europe.
• The Swiss settlers knowledge of dairy farming
  spurred an agricultural shift in Green County in
  the mid to late 1800s. 
• Two important industries established themselves
  in Monroe and could not be more closely tied to
  Wisconsin-- cheese and beer. The first brewery
  in Monroe was founded in 1843, and today, Monroe
  is known as the Swiss Cheese Capital of the U.S.

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The Community of Monroe

• Several events have impacted the community over
  the years, including a cholera epidemic in 1848,
  and a devastating tornado that hit the city and
  much of the state on Palm Sunday in 1965.
• But Monroe has bounced back from these tragedies,
  and has continued to build a vibrant community.

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The Community of Monroe

• Monroe has a reputation for getting things done.
  In 1914, a meeting of a group of local business
  leaders would forever impact the city. They
  decided that if a town in neighboring Illinois
  could dedicate a day to celebrate sauerkraut,
  then Monroe could have a day to celebrate its
  passioncheese. This famous celebration dubbed
  Cheese Days now attracts about a hundred
  thousand visitors to the area and adds 500,000
  to the local economy. Nationally, the event has
  helped put the city of Monroe, Wisconsin on the
  map.

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The Community of Monroe

• Monroe is a city where things get done when
  people work together, particularly when attention
  is paid to the actual realities of the region. It
  took people of vision to realize that stinky
  cheese was the way of the future and then stand
  up to make the notion acceptable.
• In many cases in Monroe's history it has been the
  vision of local business leaders that has
  propelled the city forward, such as when Joseph
  Huber saved the, now longest operating, brewery
  in the Midwest from bankruptcy by giving his
  employees part ownership in the company. It was a
  group of five local businessmen that kicked off
  Monroe's most celebrated event -- Cheese Days.

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The Community of Monroe

• It is important to remember that business is an
  integral part of a healthy community and one
  cannot really do well without the other. The
  Swiss Colony is a shining example of business in
  harmony with community and other companies could
  do worse than look for inspiration there. This
  little business grew out of the basement of Ray
  Kubly into a giant in the catalog sales arena and
  put Monroe on the world stage of business.

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The Community of Monroe

• As Monroe ventures farther and farther into the
  21st century and becomes more diverse
  economically, it will still be important to
  retain the traditions and heritage of the last
  150 years which have been shaped and propelled by
  people of vision living in the community.
• Some of the answers to Monroe's important issues
  will most likely come from external sources in
  the future (like the influx of new industries) or
  from new ventures within the community but the
  foundation for future success also relies on
  ensuring that the industries that have served
  this area so well for so long (i.e. agriculture
  and cheese-making) are not lost in the rush to
  grow the economy.

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The Community of Monroe

• These industries still have more to offer and
  finding new ways to capitalize on old successes
  can be pure profit for a community that knows how
  to work together and make some of the best cheese
  in the world.

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The Community of Monroe

• As for an individual who significantly influenced
  Monroe's past, such names as Ray Kubly (founder
  of The Swiss Colony) and Joseph Huber (Joseph
  Huber Brewing Company) naturally came up. These
  were businessmen that changed and expanded the
  economic outlook of the area in their times and
  their influence is still evident today.

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The Community of Monroe

• Another person who significantly influenced
  Monroe's past and present was Arabut Ludlow.
  Ludlow was a banker who had an understanding of
  the economic significance of area cheese-making
  that, combined with action and leadership, put
  Monroe on the path to cheese-making history.

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The Community of Monroe

• In 1873, Monroe's economy was depressed and to
  top it off, some Monrovians were making a pretty
  big stink about the wafting wagon-loads of
  limburger cheese that were being regularly hauled
  through the streets on their way to the railroad
  for shipment and elsewhere. In the face of
  citizen revolt, Ludlow (together with J. Regez
  and J. Karlen) staged a public display that would
  shape Monroes connection with limburger to the
  present day.

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The Community of Monroe

• It was Ludlow's idea to gather local
  cheese-producing farmers together on a particular
  day at his farm and then parade wagon-loads of
  limburger into the city to the Courthouse park.
  Of course, the aroma and the commotion of all
  that limburger attracted a crowd of curious
  onlookers and Ludlow took the opportunity to make
  a speech in which he declared that limburger was
  here to stay and that it would make Green County
  famous.
• This move got through to folks and effectively
  put an end to the limburger revolt in Monroe,
  paving the way for a rich tradition of limburger
  cheese-making that is alive and well in Green
  County today.

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The Community of Monroe

• Other contributions made by Ludlow include
  serving as treasurer, superintendent, and
  eventually president of the original Green County
  Agricultural Society which was responsible for,
  among other things, the creation of the Green
  County Fair. Ludlow sold the first plot of land
  for the fairgrounds to the society for 400.
  Ludlow was also an instrumental partner in the
  formation of the first bank in Monroe.
• After his death, the Ludlow family funded what
  was to become the Arabut Ludlow Memorial Library
  in Monroe, which served as the city's library for
  about 90 years. The current Monroe Library is now
  housed in what was once the old Monroe Clinic but
  the Arabut Ludlow Memorial Library lives on now
  as home to the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and
  Industry, the Green County Chapter of the Red
  Cross, and others.

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The Community of Monroe

• As for limburger cheese, it is still made at a
  Monroe address by Chalet Cheese Cooperative, and
  yes, Monroe is famous for limburger.
• In fact, Chalet Cheese Cooperative is the only
  producer of limburger in the entire United
  States. While there is only one limburger factory
  left in Green County now, local cheesemaking is
  still big business with tons of Swiss and other
  varieties of cheese produced each year from
  locally produced milk. Ludlow's defense of the
  stinky cheese was an important step in bringing a
  lasting industry to Monroe and Green County and
  serves as an excellent example of the value of
  vision in leadership.

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The Community of Monroe

• Some other key leaders who have shaped the
  community of Monroe were
• Nate Klassy the director of public works for the
  City of Monroe. He retired after 14 years of
  service. At the same time he established
  hundreds of contacts throughout Wisconsin. He
  continues to maintain contacts with several
  departments of the State of Wisconsin including
  the Departments of Transportation, Highways,
  Airports, Railroads, and DNR. He serves on the
  Monroe Planning Commission and the Southwestern
  Regional Planning Commission, appointed by the
  Governor.

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The Community of Monroe

• Former mayor Bill Ross was very influential in
  building support despite a lot of opposition for
  bringing new industries to Monroe including
  success in the battle for a new Super Walmart.

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The Community of Monroe

• Current community leaders include
• John Baumann Charlie Baumann - local business
  leaders
• Noreen Rueckert local tourism director
• Kelly Finkenbinder - Director of Public Works
• Ron Marsh Current mayor of Monroe
• Anna Schramke Green County Business and
  Economic Development

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The Community of Monroe

• John Baumann, President of Swiss Colony
  demonstrates his leadership skills by using the
  same visionary and strategic ideas that made Ray
  Kubly so successful.
• According to John, The purchase of the
  Montgomery Ward brand is consistent with The
  Swiss Colony's efforts to build stronger
  Internet-based businesses, as it is extremely
  difficult to grow consumer catalog businesses
  today. We're finding that more consumers are
  using Internet search engines for shopping or are
  visiting name brand sites," he said in a
  statement.
• John also demonstrates leadership in Business
  Ethics and Safety as Swiss Colony has won
  numerous awards in these areas.

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The Community of Monroe

• Charlie Baumann has demonstrated his leadership
  in the community in many ways including serving
  as President of the Green County Family YMCA
  where he was the motivation and architect of a
  successful building campaign.

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The Community of Monroe

• Kelly Finkenbinder, Director of Public works has
  also been very instrumental in the Main Street
  Initiative with recognition from Governor Jim
  Doyle.
• Mayor Ron Marsh, has been instrumental in
  bringing new industries to Monroe including the
  Menards distribution center and the Super
  Walmart which officially broke ground in August.
  His leadership came through team work. During
  the Super Walmart initiative he stated that he
  doesnt recall one meeting hearing anyone saying,
  that's not possible. What he heard was let's
  see what we can do.

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The Community of Monroe

• Noreen Rueckert, Chairperson for Cheese Days has
  demonstrated her leadership skills by being very
  effective in organizing such a successful event
  and demonstrates her team- work skills, and
  creativity by trying new activities to get people
  to attend the festival. She leads by example
  with her hard work and dedication.

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The Community of Monroe

• Anna Schramke, Executive Director of Green County
  Development Corporation has demonstrated her
  leadership skills in the Future Forward
  Initiative, the Main Street Initiative and by
  being very effective in promoting Green County to
  potential new businesses.

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The Community of Monroe

• Some taglines used to describe the Community of
  Monroe include
• Monroe is a community in which you will want to
  live, work, and raise a family.
• We Bring You Back.
• The future goals are to not look just to the
  horizons, but beyond.