Make whey for a monument to Ohio Swiss cheesemakers
SUGARCREEK — Ohio is filled with statues honoring the state’s elite.
Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William Mckinley, astronauts John Glenn and Buzz Aldrin, the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison. And now — Swiss cheese. With Ohio noted for being the leading Swiss cheesemaking state in the country, and Sugarcreek laying claim to the title of Little Switzerland, it seems fitting that a bronze statue celebrating the Swiss cheese industry’s local roots is being planned.
The commemorative statue that would serve as a monument to the Swiss immigrants who started and grew the industry in Tuscarawas and Holmes counties, is to be created by Alan Cottrill of Zanesville.
President of Guggisberg Cheese Richard Guggisberg, Pearl Valley Cheese President Chuck Ellis and Sugarcreek Mayor Jeff Stutzman are teaming with Cottrill on the project.
Details of the monument are still being finalized, but the statue is expected to include the names of the early cheese-house operators as a permanent reminder of their work.
More than 500 of Cottrill’s bronze statues have been cast since 1996, including the aforementioned Hayes, Edison and Glenn.
The statue is expected to be erected by October of next year, according to Stutzman, who said potential sites are being discussed.
“I think this is a great idea,” Stutzman said. “The proposed idea of the statue is of a cheesemaker making cheese. It will be set on a table and it will show the history of how the cheese industry came to our area and the immigration process of the people from Switzerland.”
Ellis noted the region of Ohio was a popular landing spot for many immigrants after World War I.
“The Swiss immigrants that came here brought with them a truly unique knowledge and deep tradition of quality that remains here to this day,” he said in a news release. “... The Ohio Swiss Cheese Association (OSCA) brought all of these immigrants together and played a major role in making Ohio Swiss cheese what it is today.”
Though the Swiss cheese industry in Ohio is healthy (nearly half of all the Swiss cheese made in the United States is produced in Ohio plants), Ellis said, the association is no longer needed because of declining memberships, as the smaller cheese houses are giving way to larger companies.
And while the idea for the Ohio Swiss Festival in Sugarcreek came from the association in 1953, the group’s dissolution does not impact the annual event, which this year runs Sept. 3 through Oct. 2.
Guggisberg Cheese was born out of Doughty Valley Cheese in 1950 by Richard’s father, Alfred Guggisberg, who studied the art of cheesemaking in the Swiss Alps at the cheesemaker’s institute. He developed baby Swiss, featuring smaller holes and a creamier taste. Buehler’s Market helped with the inaugural sales of baby Swiss and continues to carry the cheese today.
Many of the cheesemakers worked together before they went off and started their own plants. Alfred Guggisberg worked at Pearl Valley Cheese, as did Hans Jorg of the former Farmerstown Cheese, and Forrest Hicks of the Ragersville Cheese plant.
“There was a real tight camaraderie among the Swiss cheesemakers in those early days,” Ellis said.
In 1995, Guggisberg expanded production with an additional facility in Sugarcreek. The product is sold across the United States and in Europe.
In 2019, Guggisberg Cheese earned the distinction of being named the No. 1 Cheese in America at the U.S. Champion Cheese contest in Wisconsin.
Ellis notes that cheesemaking was more of a lifestyle than a job for many early cheesemakers — one in which all family members participated from childhood into adulthood. This enabled multiple generations of families to share the benefits and trials of the business.
Ellis and his wife Sally are part of the third generation of the Ernest and Gertrude Stalder family that started Pearl Valley Cheese in the 1920s. Ernest and Gertrude passed the business on to their son, John, and his wife, Grace. Sally Ellis is a granddaughter of Ernest and Gertrude.
The Ellis’ two sons and a nephew are the fourth generation carrying on the Pearl Valley business.
For Ellis, the proposed statue is a way to show appreciation to all who have helped make the cheese industry thrive.
Leftover funds from the dissolution of the Ohio Swiss Cheese Association will be applied to the cost of the statue, which is expected to be in the neighborhood of $80,000. Stutzman said he also hopes to obtain grants to help pay for the project.