HISTORY OF GREEN COUNTY. 
 
period was not the most favorable for cherish- 
ing friendly and neighborly feelings. 
The school at New Glarus was commenced 
under great difficulties. One of the scholars of 
the first English school describes the same as 
follows: The place where the school was 
taught was the largest and best house in the 
settlement, that is to say, a log-house about 
18x20, a private house, the one room being 
kitchen, sitting room and dining-room of a 
large family, and school-room at the same time. 
The bed in it was the general depository of all 
the scholars' books, slates, dinner pails, hats, 
caps, mittens. etc. Mr. Kilroy, the teacher, 
had us seated on benches all around the room. 
Ile ordered us to learn all together at once. 
Every scholar studied spelling, reading and wri- 
ting after his own method, and at his own time. 
The only command of the teacher was, Chinese- 
like, that every scholar must learn aloud. He 
walked up and down in the room, stick in hand, 
and punished the disobedient, who  did not 
speak up loud. When he was tired, he would 
demand and take room    of the length of his 
body on one of the benches, and try to sleep. 
then we would learn pretty loud, so loud that 
Mrs, Schmid, who was cooking and taking care 
of her children, would emphatically raise her 
large wooden pot-ladle, and declare in full force 
and earnest, that she would certainly put a stop 
to this noise. 
The teacher was boarded around, and was 
treated as nobly as possible. One of the ladies 
remembers now, that she borrowed a coffee cup 
for him, so he might drink his coffee from a cup, 
instead of dipping it with a spoon out of the pan 
with the family. Whether this was sincere 
courtesy, or whether she was afraid of the to- 
bacco juice, hanging on his mustache, would 
surely be an impertinent question. Mr. Kilroy 
did not teach but two terms. Since that the 
schools of  NeW Glarus have advanced with the 
times. A new school house was built in 1849, 
and a fine bell was presented for it, by friends 
of the colony from the old home. When the 
 
bell was rung for the first time, on a Sunday 
morning, just after it had been hauled from Mil- 
waukee, by Mr. Baumgartner, it was on the 
ground, on an elevation just behind the school 
house, and the people, standing around it were 
moved to tears. Now-a-days, it must be said, 
there is a great amount of bell-ringing done at 
New Glarus; but it leaves the great majority of 
the people cold, up to the heart. Worldly mat- 
ters are predominant. 
The town of New Glarus has been a wheat- 
growing district for many years. Those hill- 
sides and plateaux have in many instances stood 
the abuse of being plowed and sowed with wheat 
for twelve or fifteen successive years. Little 
else was raised during the time of twenty years, 
from 1850 to 1870. But when the price of wheat 
came down, after the close of the war, when the 
hill-sides were cut up by numerous ditches, 
when the arable portion of the fields was washed 
away in many places, and above all, when the 
"chinch bugs" appeared, and ate up the wheat 
crop year after year, then the farmers were 
forced to think of the next thing on the pro- 
gramme. The old system had to be abandoned. 
"Aut Caesar aut nihil!" was the alternative of 
the captives of the old Romans, when the point 
of the sword was on their breast. So it was with 
the farmers of the hilly part of Green county. 
"Either cheese or nothing!" and happily we got 
the cheese. The old wheat fields were seeded 
with clover and grass. Cows were put on them. 
Cheese factories were built. After the fact was 
proved, that there was a ready market for cheese, 
it only took five or six yeats until cheese-mak- 
ing was the main branch of work for the whole 
farming population. At present, no less than 
800,000 pounds of cheese are annually manufac- 
tured in the town of New Glarus during six or 
s'even months. This does not only pay better, 
but the farms are constantly made more product- 
ive. 
The grubbing and breaking of land has no(t 
ceased yet, and will probably not, unitil every 
 
1029