My other great grandfather was an award winning cheese maker. Respect!

Beer and Cheese Run Deep in my Family

So I have one great grandfather that was the proprietor of Mautz's Tavern and then my other great grandfather on the paternal side of the family tree - my grandma's dad - he was an award-winning cheesemaker. So the roots of beer and cheese run deep and intense on that side of the family! Makes me so proud (sniff, sniff).

That's him in the pic below. He was a good-looking man, his stache was on point, and he looked so familiar to me because of the strong resemblance to my dad.

From left to right - Antonia Sutter (my grandma), Martha Sutter, Caroline Sutter, Anton Sutter, Anton Sutter, Jr., and in the middle is Emma Sutter.

The S. S. Hamburg

My great grandfather, Anton Sutter, came to the U.S. in 1905. According to Ancestry.com, this is a picture of the boat he traveled on to New York. The passenger list shows him arriving in December 1905.

From New York, they went to Milwaukee, WI. They then moved to a cheese factory in Stockton, IL, then to a cheese factory in Darlington, WI (this is where my grandma was born in 1908), and then to a cheese factory in Cambria, WI, and then to a cheese factory in Sun Prairie, WI and FINALLY settling in East Bristol, WI and eventually purchasing the East Bristol Cheese Factory in 1921 so the family could be closer to church and school. They were very involved members of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in East Bristol, WI.

1921 - Anton Sutter buys East Bristol Cheese Factory

I have been told (although I haven't been able to thoroughly verify) that this cheese factory they went to in Sun Prairie was in the building formerly known as Patches Bar - some of you may remember that fine establishment. Funny enough, I now live right down the street from this building - which is currently vacant and for sale in case anyone is interested. Very trippy to think that about 100 years ago, my great grandfather made cheese there.

Award-Winning Cheese

What I find the most fascinating is the awards he won for his cheese making. Just how good was his brick cheese, anyway?!?

Anton Sutter, Gold Medal for Brick Cheese at National Dairy Show in Springfield, MA, 1916

Wisconsin State Fair Cheese Winners 1921

Anton Sutter, Second Prize, Brick Cheese, WI State Fair, 1921

No Clinkers

Anton Sutter giving high praises for the coal used in his cheese factory

Sources: Ancestry.com; Chicago Dairy Product, Google e-book, Butter Cheese & Egg Journal, Volume 11

Comments

Vintage Soda Bottles

Vintage, Retro Soda Bottles They just don't make them like this anymore. Although they are heavy and fragile to transport, they are a more environmentally friendly option than the plastic soda bottles of today. And they just look so much cooler!! Buried in a box in the side garage were a pile of empty soda bottles of various brands. I find the bygone days of regional soda, before Pepsi and Coke took over everything, fascinating. I grabbed a few of some of these more interesting looking bottles, most of brands I had never heard of, and found a way to use them as vintage decor in my office. Most of these are from the 1950s. It was fun to do a little retro soda research. We do love our soda pop! Pile of 60+ year old empty soda bottles Vintage Soda Bottle Decor in My Office Howel's Root Beer Bottle is Circa late 1940s The origins of Howel's Beverage Company out of Chicago, IL started with the sale of an orange-julep syrup (this would eventually becom

Let's Start with Englebert Mautz (formerly Mauz)

I'm going to start my blog with what little I do know about my great-grandfather, Engelbert Mautz, since he was the family member that first settled in East Bristol, WI. Nothing says classy biography like a bullet point list, but for your easy reading pleasure, here are some high level 'facts' that I found on the Internet and through information that my aunt had in the form of historical documentation, anecdotes, and photos. He was born in 1858 in Burladingen, Germany He was a cabinet maker According to my aunt, he was a tall and husky German (see photo below) He came to America in 1890 first to somewhere on the East coast. He settled in East Bristol, WI in 1893 His last name was actually Mauz. His first wife's name was Anna Heim. They had three daughters, Regina, Kate and Johanna. Anna died after giving birth to Johanna. His second wife's name was also Anna. Her maiden name was also Mauz. Were they related? At some point and for a reason I'm not s

Kurth's Brewing, Columbus, WI

Kurth's Beer from Columbus, WI Well, the online auction of items from the tavern has been over now for a few months and at times I find myself still reflecting on how valuable some of those items were to people. Our signature piece was the Kurth's Beer sign that had been sitting in the garage for upwards of 70 years. It's that sign that has inspired this blog post, which focuses on all the vintage Kurth Brewing items that were found inside. Kurth's Beer Sign If you want to know more about Kurth Brewery, I encourage you to check out this July 2016 article by Lisa Cestkowski for the Columbus Journal https://www.wiscnews.com/columbusjournal/news/local/kurth-brewery-was-barreling-full-steam-ahead-until-flames-altered-the-course-of-history/article_a5cd6ef0-4a02-5501-bd40-1084d25fe168.html I'm sure it makes sense that there was an abundance of Kurth's Beer served at the tavern. Since the brewery was located in Columbus, WI it was likely the closest bre

Mautz's Tavern- A Historical Commentary

Search This Blog