Do you know that Loretta Lynn song?
“Well, I was born a coal miner’s daughter…”
I’m giggling as I hum.
I was, in fact, practically born and raised in a cheese factory that was located on one end of that sweet little town I told you about in yesterday’s post.
Here’s a picture of the Ferryville Wisconsin Cheese Factory as I remember it…
…and here’s a picture of THE best cheese maker in all of the great Wisconsin dairy state! 😉
Yep, that’s my dad!
I used to run the half block or so to the factory after elementary school to pop my head in and see what kind of trouble I could get into. The factory was owned by my grandparents on my mother’s side…
…and managed by my parents from the time they were married in their early 20’s. (They both worked there all through school as well) Cheese making was so much a part of my childhood and I have the fondest memories of what now seems like such a cool way to grow up. As I was saying, I would rush in after school to say hello. Mom would often be found in the office as she attended to the accounting aspect of the business.
After my check-in with mom, I’d head straight out to the cheese plant in the hopes of finding my dad working on a fresh vat of cheese curds. If I could be so lucky…he’d reach in and pull out some warm, squeaky, salty, cheddary bites for my after school snack! Yumm-O! How cool is that? lol If you’ve never tasted a fresh cheese curd, you would do yourself a favor to get your hands on some!
If the curds were already finished, I’d head out to the store to help myself to some sample pieces of the yummy cheeses that were for sale in the cases here:
Side note: As a young adult, I suffered from a kidney stone at one time. The stone was analyzed and my doctor confirmed that it was mainly due to too much calcium in my diet. He proceeded to tell me that I should cut calcium pretty much from my diet INCLUDING ALL CHEESE! LOL I laughed explaining to him that it was like telling me to give up water. 😉 (I did NOT cut down on my cheese intake, except recently for weight loss and have not suffered since! ~Knock on wood!)
Sometimes my sisters and I would help out around the factory by cleaning, selling, and stocking. My fondest memories though had to do with the non-store hour days. Sometimes on the weekends, before the vats and cheese equipment were to be cleaned and sanitized, my sisters and I would play hide-n-seek. There were so many wonderful hiding places in that vast room where all the magic happened.
Ferryville, WI was somewhat known in the area because of the cheese factory. In the fall, when the leaves were changing colors along the river, people would drive for miles to take in the scenery and stop in our sleepy little town to sample some of the famous Wisconsin cheese! I would often take advantage of the crowds by setting up “shop” of my own outside – I believe I get my entrepreneurial spirit from my cheesemaker and business minded grandfather. (More on that later) 😉
Here’s a postcard (front and back) that I found…for fun!
It was a great time in my childhood…
Do you have any special memories you’d like to share about how/where you grew up? Would love to read them below.
