A Lifetime Spent Perfecting His Craft
Casper ran his Brodhead Swiss Cheese Factory until 1958, when he retired. He was having health problems, so he and Frieda moved to Tucson, Arizona. They thought the climate there would be better for him. They had been married nearly 50 years when Casper died on January 20, 1971. He was 77. Frieda returned to Wisconsin and lived until she was 98. Their son, Fritz, and daughter, Annabelle, are both still in Wisconsin. Fritz and his wife, Donna, raised their family and live just a few blocks from where his father’s factory was located.
Casper placed this announcement in the Brodhead newspaper in 1956. What does this tell you about his relationship with local farmers?
Casper had local artist Frank Engebretson paint this scene of the Swiss Alps onto the side of his Brodhead Swiss Cheese Factory. It represents Casper’s love for his homeland and Switzerland’s tradition of cheese making.
As a 20-year-old European immigrant, Casper Jaggi arrived in a strange land. He brought with him an understanding of cheese making, which his father had taught him in the Swiss Alps when he was a young boy. Casper did other work when he first arrived in the United States, but his love for making cheese continued throughout his lifetime. For Casper, cheese making was an art that he perfected over many years.
While running his business, Casper never forgot his father’s words: “If you can’t do a job right, don’t do it at all.” If you asked Casper’s many loyal workers and customers about how he did his job, they would say he was a perfectionist.
Casper was one of the cheese-making pioneers who came to Wisconsin from Switzerland. Along with other cheese makers, he helped establish a tradition that made Wisconsin known throughout the world as a cheese-making state. The tradition continues today.
Thousands of designs were submitted for the Wisconsin quarter. As you can see, the winner contains symbols of our state’s agricultural heritage—including a cow and the cheese made from its milk!
Casper Jaggi was clearly a master cheese maker. He set a fine example for those cheese makers who followed him. In 1994, Wisconsin created a special program to train and certify master cheese makers. People applying for the program must have at least 10 years’ experience and be an active licensed Wisconsin cheese maker.
Wisconsin cheese makers have also established the Wisconsin Dairy Artisan Network. These artisan cheese makers pride themselves in producing handcrafted cheese made in small batches. Some of these cheese makers even use milk from cows, goats, and sheep they raise themselves.
Today, Wisconsin cheese makers compete against cheese makers from other states and countries. Wisconsin’s cheeses win many national and international awards. Cheese making continues to be a delicious part of Wisconsin’s heritage.
These twin girls are the next generation of Wisconsin cheese makers. Their parents, Rolf and Marieke Penterman, immigrated to Wisconsin from Holland. In 2002, the Pentermans started turning their cows’ milk into Gouda, a traditional Dutch cheese. Their farm in Thorp is called Holland’s Family Farm.
