Tag Archive | barn quilt
Barn Quilt and Dairy Farm Tour
Barn Quilt Tour Video-90 minutes
Green County Cheese Days in Monroe is back again, and this year I planned on taking the Barn Quilt and DeVoe Dairy Farm Tour. I had not done this before and I was excited! Our guides are Kris Winkler and Lynn Lokken. I went alone since Al couldn’t come with me on Saturday. The tour was sold out with over 60 people filling the bus!
We headed out at 11 AM, Kris and Lynn gave a running commentary during the tour. We saw a great many barn quilts. To do your own tour, you can get the map from the Green County Visitor and Activity Guide. There is a pull-out map in the middle of the publication. You can also see a Google map of the barn quilt locations from the website, Green County Barn Quilts. We saw as many as we could in 2 1/2 hours. Here is a small sample of the quilts we saw.
Kris and Lynn also pointed out several businesses and cheese-making places along the route. The first was Rackow’s Family Sausage with the distinctive pink silo!
This quilt was mentioned but we didn’t see it on the tour. This one was modeled after a scuba diving flag, a sport we participated in together for many years. It’s called, “Live and Let Dive”, #141 on the map.
The Maple Leaf Cheese factory in Monroe. They are the source of the famous fried cheese curds sold at Cheese Days by the Monroe Optimist Club.
Al and I saw this place in October (not on the tour), the Maple Leaf Cheese Store in Juda where we enjoyed a treat!
On the tour, we also got a sneak preview of a brand-new goat and sheep dairy farm that is still in development. It’s called Ms. J and Co. This farm will be able to provide sheep and goat milk on a larger scale to cheese producers in Wisconsin. They are predicted to come online in 2020. It’s possible we may get a tour here at Cheese Days in two years!
And now, our visit to the DeVoe Dairy Farm for our tour!
Our first part of the tour was in the milking parlor. Yvonne DeVoe does all the milking on the farm and you can tell she loves her cows! ❤ The “head cow” is Adele, she mooed a few times for us too 🙂
Next, our group moved over to the farmyard, where we saw chickens, goats, pigs, donkey, and other animals. Oldest daughter Katlyn took over from here.
She also showed us a couple of newborn calves. She carried them in and out of the barn like they were light. Really, they might be at least 60 pounds!
Then, we adjourned to enjoy some ice-cold milk, cheese, and ice cream!
Our hosts Lynn and Kris serving snacks to all the tour participants.
I even said “Hi” to Alice in Dairyland 2018, Kaitlyn Riley! A nice young lady doing a great job representing Wisconsin. After the tour, she participated in the cow milking contest.
After about 15 minutes, it was time to head to Monroe, Kaitlyn had some milking to do soon! We saw a few more barn quilts on the way back. Be sure to watch the video for the full, unabridged tour.
Thanks, Kris and Lynn for a great tour, I hope to see you in 2020 during Cheese Days!
Evansville-Soybean Capital and Barn Quilt City
9-16-13
Welcome to Evansville!
This city of 5000 is located in Rock County and is a great place to visit. Only 23 miles south of Madison, it’s a quick getaway from the big city. One thing that sets Evansville apart is the many barn quilts adorning many of the buildings there.
Another distinctive art form Evansville is known for are windmills. They are displayed all over the downtown, made by local artists. The large one is next to the Evansville Grove Society History Museum and visitor center. This was the former Baker Office Building.
The windmill signifies Evansville’s dedication to Green Energy. It was selected as a pilot Wisconsin Energy Independent Community in 2010.
Yet another distinction of Evansville is its strong ties to the local farming community. It earned the title of “Soybean Capital of Wisconsin” in 2007. Evansville has many beautiful historic buildings. This is the former City Hall.
This is the former Leota School for Girls, now an impressive red home.
The Allen Funeral Home, since 1930.
The Eager Free Public Library.
The former train depot, now the local VFW.
There are a great many more beautiful buildings to see. Look here for a walking tour you can print.
It was time for lunch, and we had a great one downtown at The Night Owl.
10-6-16 – The Night Owl had a fire overnight, it will be closed until further notice.
Our last stop in Evansville that day was Lake Leota Park.
This park is their largest, the lake being a former millpond. Here is a beautiful waterfall there now with a view of the rest of the lake.
I am a big fan of covered bridges, and they have one at this park.
We had a great visit to Evansville and hope to be back again soon.
Related Sites and Articles
* Evansville Observer Blog Evansville History
Don’t Go Half-Way to Brodhead
9-30-13
Brodhead is a picturesque community in Green County with much to see. The Sugar River Trail is here also, the southern trailhead. It’s 22 miles long, going all the way to New Glarus. We began our explorations downtown, the town has a square with gazebo and picnic tables. Its called, “Tinker’s Garden.” Here is where many festivals take place,
Across the street in a building is a mural paying homage to the railroad and depot in Brodhead.
We could see the restored depot from here. Inside is the museum and an engine and caboose you could go in. Unfortunately, it was closed for the season. Maybe we can get back here in the spring when it re-opens. The Brodhead Historical Society does good work here.
adjacent to the depot is the Veterans Memorial Park, in the center is a tall Civil War Monument.
After exploring downtown for a while, we headed to points just outside. Stopped by Decatur Dairy for a grilled cheese sandwich and some cheese curds. We were too late for a tour but we will go back.
They even had a “cheese tree” totem pole outside, cool!
Speaking of tree, Brodhead also has a historic living tree called the Half-Way Tree. Indian runners used it as a marker because it was half-way between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan.
It’s harvest time, and that includes APPLES! Our next stop was nearby Ten Eyck Orchard for some locally grown apples and cider. The historic round barn with the apple barn quilt are this farm’s most distinctive features. We bought some Empire apples, delicious!
It was time to head back north towards Madison. On the way, we walked a bit on the Sugar River trail to see the famous Clarence covered bridge replica, completed in 1984.
Come all the way to Brodhead, it’s well worth the visit!
Related articles
- Smoked Mozzarella, Bacon, and Apple Grilled Cheese (mygasstove.wordpress.com)
- Cauliflower Jalapeno Grilled Cheese (Vegan) (cleaneatingveggiegirl.com)